436 TUFTED DUCK. 



the temperate regions of Asia, and during cold weather large num- 

 bers visit Japan, China, and the northern half of India. 



Incubation takes place towards the end of May or the beginning 

 of June, the nest being concealed under a bush or in a tuft of 

 sedge ; and the eggs, 8-13 in number, are of a greenish-buff colour : 

 average measurements 2 '3 by i'5 in. The call-note on alighting is 

 rendered by Mr. Whitaker as currugh, ciirrugh, uttered gutturally ; 

 and, when at Rainworth, he called my attention to the fact — which 

 he believed to be invariable — that the female is the first to rise when 

 both birds are together on the water. They dive freely and fre- 

 quently. For the table this species is tolerably good when it has 

 been eating aquatic plants, but as soon as it has taken to animal 

 food, either from fresh or salt water, the result is not satisfactory. 

 Feeding takes place soon after twilight, and also in the early 

 morning. Pinioned birds have bred on the ponds in the Zoological 

 Gardens, and on other ornamental waters ; and at the former a 

 Tufted crossed with a Ferruginous Duck in 1849, the hybrids after- 

 wards breeding either //?/<??- 5i? or with one of the parents till 1861. 

 In the British Museum there is a hybrid presented by Mr. R. J. 

 Howard from a brood produced in 1886 on the reservoir of the 

 Blackburn Corporation Park between the Tufted Duck and the 

 Pochard ; and a cross-bred bird of this description is in the Belfast 

 Museum. 



The adult male has the crest, head and neck glossy purplish- 

 black ; breast, and the upper parts generally, duller black, with a 

 green tinge on the secondaries ; alar speculum white ; belly and flanks 

 white, washed with grey towards the vent ; under tail-coverts black ; 

 bill pale blue ; nail black ; irides brilliant golden-yellow ; legs and 

 toes dark blue, webs black. Length 17 in. ; wing 8 in. Mr. 

 Whitaker says that a paired male began to change into female 

 plumage in May, but an unattached drake was as bright as ever 

 until the end of August, when he became less white on the flanks. 

 It is a fact, though one which is perhaps not generally known, that 

 the drakes of many other species retain full, or nearly full, dress 

 throughout the summer, when they have not found a mate in spring. 

 The female is dark brown on all those parts which are black in the 

 male, the under surface being brownish-grey ; and old females, as 

 well as young males — which in first plumage resemble the mother 

 —sometimes have the forehead sprinkled with white. 



