WHITE-EYED POCHARD 



315 



brown, while the under-parts are white, the back is bluish black, and 

 the legs and feet are lead-colour. 



In length tlie bird is a couple of inches less than the pochard, 

 measuring" only 16 inches, while its weight is about i lb. 6 oz. 

 Apparently there is no non - breeding plumage, which has been 

 altogether eliminated in favour of the breeding-dress. The duck is a 

 smaller, duller, and darker bird than her mate, with grey eyes ; and 

 young birds display a still duller tone in their plumage. The down of 

 the duckling is generally dark brown on the upper-parts, but on the 



MOUNTED IN THE ROWLAND WARD STUDIOS 



WHITE-EYED POCHARD. 



cheeks and front of the neck it becomes yellowish buff, while a still 

 more distinctive feature is formed by the presence of a light bar 

 behind each wing. 



An irregular visitor, generally in winter and spring, to the British 

 Islands, the white-eyed pochard is a native of the Mediterranean area, 

 central and southern Europe, and thence eastward through south- 

 western Asia to Kashmir, where it commonly breeds on the Wala 

 Lake. Holland, Germany, and the latitude of Moscow apparently 

 form the approximate limits of its northern breeding-range in Europe. 

 In winter it ranges as far south as the Canaries, Egypt, Abyssinia, 

 northern India, and upper Burma. Although examples are often 



