DUCKS, GEESE, AND SWANS. 211 
Duck are very distinctive. The head and neck of 
the male are rich chestnut; the back scapulars and 
flanks are white, finely-pencilled or vermiculated 
with black ; the gorget and tail coverts are 
black ; the under - surface grayish-white ; the 
quills brown. The female has the head and neck 
reddish-brown, the chin white, and the remainder 
of the plumage much browner and more dingy than 
in her mate. The Pochard is by no means exclu- 
sively a marine Duck; in fact, this species appears 
to be as much attached to fresh-waters as to the 
sea. Unfortunately, there is one thing about most 
of these Sea Ducks which does much to detract 
from their interest, and that is, they cannot readily 
be observed from the shore, and appear upon our 
seas at a season when the elements render the coast 
least attractive. Most of these Ducks lie well off 
the land, where the wild-fowler alone is tempted to 
follow them; or if approaching the shore more 
closely, it is generally during rough tempestuous 
weather, when all but the enthusiastic naturalist and 
the gunner prefer to remain warm and comfortable 
at home. The Pochard is no exception in this 
respect. It arrives along our coasts in October, 
and remains with us until the following March. It 
is thoroughly aquatic in its habits, rarely visiting the 
land, feeding both by day and by night (chiefly the 
latter), and often flying for considerable distances, 
about dusk, to waters where food is abundant. 
Although its flight, at first, is slow and laboured, it 
