THE POCHARD. 



117 



structed at the bottom, out of which they cannot readily 

 escape, several hundreds being sometimes taken at once in 

 this manner.^ 



Pochards feed, when on fresh water, on aquatic plants, 

 for which they dive, and they are then excellent for the 

 table, being considered almost equal to the celebrated Can- 

 vas-back Duck of America. When at sea they subsist on 

 molluscs and other marine creatures, and are not then well 

 flavoured. 



The head and upper neck of the male Pochard are rich 

 chestnut. In the female these parts are huffish brown. 



1 See The Wild Fowler, by Folkard, second edition, 1864, pp. 82-94. 



