598 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XII. 



and Manipur, however, I think they generally come in by October, and 

 I have seen a pair about the lOtb of that month. 



In some parts of India they arrive in flocks of thousands ; Hume 

 writes in one place of " flocks of many thousands and acres of water 

 paved with them," again " I rowed into a flock of this species, several 

 thousands in number." Reid also, after saying that though (in the 

 Lucknow division) he has come across them in small parties, as a rule, 

 of a dozen or so, yet " one morning in December, I came across countless 

 numbers on a jheel in the Fyzabad district closely packed and cover- 

 ing the whole surface of the water, with their red heads moving in- 

 dependently, while the breeze kept their crests in motion ; a distant 

 spectator might have mistaken them for a vast expanse of beautiful 

 aquatic flowers." 



As a general thing, therefore, it would seem that the Red-crested 

 Pochard likes to congregate in very large flocks, and it is only when 

 the country is not very well suited to their wants that they split up 

 into small parties, and under these circumstances, very small flocks and 

 even pairs and single birds may sometimes be seen. 



They are open water birds by choice, frequenting large sheets of 

 water, unobstructed by surface weeds, reeds, or water plants, except about 

 the shores or banks. Of course, where they are most common, a few 

 birds may be met with in almost any kind of water, but it is rare for 

 any large flock to be found on vegetation-covered swamps, small dirty 

 jheels, etc. 



They are splendid swimmers, and regularly play about on the water 

 with one another where undisturbed, and as divers, they are even better 

 than as swimmers, though the White-eye may excel them in this 

 respect. 



Legge says : " This handsome Pochard, though belonging to the 

 family of diving ducks, which are mainly characterized by their webb- 

 ed or lobed hind-toes, is said by those who have observed its habits, 

 not to dive for its food, but to feed, like ordinary ducks, in shallow 

 water, with its neck stretched down and its body turned up." 



This, too, is what Dresser says, but would appear to be distinctly con- 

 trary to what most observers have noted ; what Hume records is what 

 most of us have taken to be the habits of this bird : he writes thus after 

 quoting Dresser's remarks : " I should like to know where he obtained 



