NYKoCA FEKINA 261 



very rarely to the east, not at all to the extreme east, and it winters 

 throughout Southern Europe and Asia, and also in Northern Africa. 

 Seebohm (' Birds of the Japanese Empire ') says : — 



" The Pochard occurs both in Yezzo and the more southerly 

 Japanese islands, buL whether it be resident or only a winter 

 resident there seems to he no evidence to determine." 



Finn, in his popular articles on ducks in the ' Asian,' thus defines 

 its Indian area : — 



"It visits Northern India in large numbers; further south it 

 is less common, but occurs as far as Bellary. It has not heen 

 obtained in Mysore, or further south, nor in Ceylon ; but it is 

 not uncommon in Assam and Manipur, and has recently been 

 recorded from the neiglibourhood of Mandalay.^ 



This last record probabl\- refers to the three birds shot at 

 Mandalay by Captain T. 8. Johnson, in a miscellaneous bag of 

 562 ducks and geese, and mentioned by Gates in p. 310 of his 

 ' Manual of Game-Birds.' 



It is probable that it visits North Burma and the independent 

 Burmese States in considerable numbers, for it is common in 

 jManipur, whence a large proportion migrate towards Burma, and 

 not through Cachar and Sylhet. Hopwood reports it from Arakan 

 and Harington from Bhamo. 



I have had it now reported to me from Mysore, where, however, 

 it would only appear to be met with on very rare occasions, and 

 Captain E. 0. King sent a specimen from Bangalore to the Bombay 

 N.H. Society. Hume notes that it has not been recorded from 

 Cachar or Sylhet, but it is fairly common in both districts. 



From Kashmir it has also been recorded as forming an item in 

 a large bag made by three guns in that state, and again in the 

 ' Asian ' of the 8th of February, 1898, two Dun-birds are said to 

 have formed part of a bag of 508 duck and teal shot by A. E. W. 

 in the same state. 



Nidiflcation. — The Pochard breeds extensively over Europe and 

 even in northern Africa, in Algiers. It has also been reported as 

 breeding in Egypt, but probably by mistake. It also breeds in the 

 western half of North Central Asia. 



It makes its nest beside water — generally right at the edfe 



