2 so HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS 



British Museum (Proc. Zool. Soc, 1886, p. 550), 

 and another in the Belfast Museum. 



Having shot many of these Ducks at various 

 times, and occasionally as late in the spring as the 

 end of March, I have noticed that the colour of the 

 iris varies with age. In the young bird it is pale 

 yellow ; in an older bird, orange ; in a fine adult 

 male, crimson ; ^ but the colour has been observed 

 to change from red to yellow from excitement (see 

 Stevenson, "Birds of Norfolk," vol. iii. p. 207). 



The weight also will vary, according to age, from 

 2 lbs. to 2 lbs. 6 oz. 



WHITE-EYED POCHARD or FERRUGINOUS DUCK. 



Fuligula nyroca vel jerruginea (Gmelin). PI. 29, 

 figs. 7, 8. Length, 16 in.; bill, 2-25 in.; wing, 775 

 in. ; tarsus, I'l in. 



A spring visitant, generally to the eastern counties 

 of England between the Thames and the Humber. 

 The east of England would therefore appear to be 

 the western limit of its regular migration, the few 

 individuals which have been killed more to the 

 westward being stragglers. R. Gray, in his " Birds 

 of the West of Scotland," p. 385, says, "I know of 

 but one instance of the occurrence of this bird in 

 any part of Scotland." 



In Ireland this Duck has occurred in winter on 

 the Dublin coast (Blake Knox, Zool., 1871, p. 2645), 

 two on the east coast in 1879 (Payne Gallwey, 

 "Fowler in Ireland," p. 101), one on the estate of 



1 This is the case also with the Grebes. 



