ANATIDiE. 



443 



THE COMMON POCHARD. 



FULIGULA FERINA (LilinffiUS). 



This species is also known by the names " Red-headed Poker " or 

 " Red-eyed Poker " in the case of the male, while that of " Dun-bird ''' 

 is usually, but not exclusively, bestowed upon the female or the 

 young. The Pochard is in the main a cold-weather visitor to 

 England, though very irregular both as regards numbers and 

 localities. It usually appears early in October and leaves again in 

 spring ; but a good many now remain to breed on some of our 

 inland waters, where, owing to efficient protection, they have 

 increased of late. Such is the case at Merton and in other parts of 

 Norfolk, at Hornsea Mere in Yorkshire, in Lancashire, Dorsetshire, 

 Hertfordshire, and some localities which need not be named. In 

 Scotland this species is generally distributed, except in the Outer 

 Hebrides, though it breeds in Tiree ; and it nests in Ross, Moray, 

 Perthshire, Fifeshire, Roxburghshire, and in the Orkneys ; visiting 

 the Shetlands. In Ireland it is widely distributed over inland waters 

 in winter, and there is evidence that it has nested in many counties. 



The Pochard is only a wanderer to the Faeroes and Iceland, while 

 it is not common in any part of Scandinavia ; but in Russia it 

 breeds as far north as Lake Ladoga, and southward to the Caspian. 



