212 BRITISH SEA “BIRDS: 
soon becomes very rapid, and the quickly-beating 
wings make a rustling sound very characteristic of 
this species. The Pochard is another expert diver, 
and by this means obtains most of its food, visiting 
the bottom and bringing up masses of weeds to eat 
them on the surface. On the coast its food largely 
consists of crustaceans and molluscs, as well as 
marine plants. The note of this species is a loud 
and harsh kurr. 
The haunts of the Pochard in summer are large 
and open sheets of water, surrounded by a luxuriant 
growth of sedge, rush, iris, and similar plants, or 
situated on higher ground clothed with heath, gorse, 
and coarse grass. It is a social bird during the 
breeding period, several females often nesting close 
together. The nest is always made near fresh 
water, and in many cases absolutely floats on 
rafts of fallen and rotting vegetation several yards 
from the bank, or rests in some tussock surrounded 
by shallow water. A bed of iris, or a crown of 
rushes, is another favourite spot. It is made of 
dry grass and fragments of any aquatic vegetation 
obtainable, and lined with down from the female’s 
body. The eggs—usually from eight to twelve, 
sometimes more—are brownish-gray. As is usual 
among Ducks, the female alone brings up the 
numerous family. This Duck is widely distributed 
over many parts of Europe, Northern Asia, and 
North America, the birds of the latter continent being 
regarded by some ornithologists as a distinct species. 
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