LIFE lilSTOKIES OF NOKTll AMERICAN WILD TOWL. 175 



" From a sporting point of view, the red-crested pochard is all that can be desired. 

 About as smart as they make them, he seems to have special aptitude for judging 

 the length of range of different guns; and a flock may be caught once but seldom 

 twice, whatever the distance the gun may reach. Tliey swim so fast that they can 

 by this means generally escape, and they are often very loath to rise when they can 

 thus get out of shot. " 



As a table bird the red-crested pochard resembles the common pochard and the 

 widgeon in its flesh. That is to say, when it feeds on fish and shellfish it is rank 

 and uneatable, and when it eats vegetable matter it is excellent. "On account of 

 their great timidity, " says Naumann, " you can only creep up lo them to shoot them 

 unseen and against the wind, if they are swimming near enougli to the bank; but as 

 they almost always choose the open center of larger pieces of water as their places of 

 sojourn, there is in this case no other method than to approach them openly in a 

 boat, which can certainly only succeed with solitary specimens if they have not yet 

 suffered any pursuit at that place, and then not always, whilst larger flocks generally 

 take to flight when within a hundred paces of you. Occasionally when flying round 

 afterwards they get near enough to the boat for a lucky shot. In the morning and 

 evening twilight they are sometimes by chance brought down when flying over. It 

 is easy to creep up to solitary' specimens which have wandered off to a small pond 

 if some care is exercised, but they can seldom endure to be shot at by a gun 

 approaching them openly. Birds which have been lamed by a shot are generally 

 lost to the pursuer on larger pieces of water, even with the help of a good water dog, as 

 they do not easily tire of diving under, and, if they can reach some sedge, are very 

 clever at hiding themselves in it, and in so doing only keep the head as far as the 

 eye above the surface of the water. They can easily be caught in large deco)' nets 

 placed at their favorite places in the water. '' 



DISTRIBUTION. 



Breeding ran^e.— Portions of Europe, Asia, and Africa. From 

 southern Germany and Spain eastward through southern Russia to 

 northern Persia and eastern Turkestan, and southward into north- 

 ern Africa. 



Winter range. — The basins of the Mediterranean, Black, and Cas- 

 pian Seas, the Persian Gulf, India, Burma, and Ceylon. 



Casual records. — Wanders to the British Isles, France, Belgium, 

 Holland, Denmark, Germany, and China. One record for North 

 America (Fulton Market, New York, 1S72). 



Egg dates. — ^Southern Russia: Eight records, April 26 to June 12. 



NYROCA AMERICANA (Eyton). 



REDHEAD. 



HABITS. 



The redhead or American ])ocliard ranks as one of our most 

 important game birds, for it is well known and widely distributed : 

 from its main breeding grounds in central Canada and the northern 

 Central States it spreads out its migrations to both coasts and 

 appears, at some season of the year, in nearly every State. 



