416 ANATID^. 



To the Fffii'oes and Iceland the Pochard appears to be 

 only a rare straggler ; nor is it at all common in any part of 

 Scandinavia, although in Russia its breeding-range extends 

 as far north as Lake Ladoga. A tolerable number nest in 

 Denmark, Northern and Central Germany, Poland, and, in 

 fact, where suitable localities present themselves, over the 

 greater part of Europe down to the Mediterranean, to 

 which considerable flocks resort in winter. It is abundant 

 in North Africa ; some are believed to breed in Algeria ; 

 and eastward its range extends through Asia Minor, Turkes- 

 tan, and Central Asia to the Baikal district, but not further 

 north. It is common in many parts of India down to 

 Calcutta in winter, at which season it visits China and 

 Japan. In America it is replaced by a closely-allied species, 

 F. americana, which is larger, with a broader, shorter, and 

 differently coloured bill, and also presents some slight but 

 constant distinctions in plumage. 



The adult male Pochard has the bill black at the point 

 and the base ; the intermediate portion pale blue, forming a 

 In'oad transverse band ; the irides red ; the head and upper 

 part of the neck all round rich chestnut-red ; the neck 

 below deep black ; back, scapulars, tertials, and wing-coverts, 

 freckled over with minute grey specks and lines on a ground 

 of white ; primaries and secondaries nearly uniform grey, 

 the primaries ending in dark brown, the secondaries nar- 

 rowly tipped with white ; rump and upper tail-coverts nearly 

 black ; tail-feathers uniform greyish-brown ; breast, sides, 

 and belly to the vent, greyish-white, produced by minute 

 grey marks, on a white ground ; under tail-coverts black ; 

 legs and toes bluish-grey, the intervening membranes bluish- 

 black. 



The whole length is nineteen inches and a half. From 

 the point of the wing to the end of the first quill-feather, 

 which is the longest, eight inches and a quarter. 



The adult female has the bill black ; the irides brown ; 

 head, and all the back of the neck dusky greyish-brown ; 

 back and wings darker grey than that of the males ; quill- 

 feathers like those of the males ; no bright-coloured specu- 



