TUFTED DUCK 125 
thirteen in number, are greenish-yellow. Incubation com- 
mences about the end of May. 
The Tufted Duck breeds in several English counties, 
among which may be mentioned :—Nottinghamshire, York- 
shire, ‘Lancashire, Northumberland, Norfolk, Sussex, Hamp- 
shire and Dorset. In Scotland it has increased markedly 
of late years as a breeding-species, the individual nesting 
districts being far too numerous to mention (Harvie- 
Brown, Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist., 1896, and Proc. Roy. Phys. 
Soc. Edin., 1895). 
It now breeds in several localities in Ireland, though 
formerly in the time of Thompson (1849), it was but a 
winter visitor. According to Mr. Ussher’s investigation 
since 1890, the bird has in all bkelihood bred in the fol- 
lowing counties :—Kerry, Cork, Clare, Tipperary, West- 
meath, Longford, Roscommon, Sligo, Leitrim, Fermanagh, 
Monaghan, “Armagh, Antrim, and Londonderry. In some 
localities the breeding-birds have noticeably increased. 
The Tufted Duck is easily tamed and breeds in captivity ; 
hybrids with the Ferruginous Duck and the Pochard have 
been raised. 
Geographical distribution.—Abroad, it breeds in the 
Northern but Sub-arctic regions of Europe and Asia, migra- 
ting in winter over the rest of these Continents, until India, 
China, and Japan are reached. Wanderers extend their 
journeys even to the neighbouring islands in the North 
Pacific Ocean. On the African side the bird reaches 
Abyssinia. 
DESCRIPTIVE CHARACTERS. 
PLUMAGE. Adult male nuptial.—Head, with its crest of 
thin wavy feathers, neck and upper breast, glossy-black, 
reflecting shades of purple and green; back, scapulars, 
wing- coverts, and under tail-coverts, duller black; wing 
speculum, white with a black border; primaries and tail, 
blackish-brown; lower breast and abdomen, white; flanks, 
shaded with greyish-white. 
Adult male, post-nuptial or eclipse. — Resembles the 
female plumage, but the brown is much darker, almost 
black, and the flanks are streaked with black. 
Adult female nuptial.—The black parts are replaced by 
dark brown, and the breast and abdomen are shaded from 
dirty white to brownish-grey. 
