CHAPTER XIV. 



THE POCHARD OR DUN-BIRD. 



(FuUgula ferina.J 



" How silly tlie wild-duck and widgeon appear, 

 To be lured in decoy by the pranks of an ape ! 

 But crafty the pochard, which cunningly dives, 

 And beats under water a certain escape." 



The Author. 



The pocbai'd or dun-bird is, by nature, one of tbe most artful wild- 

 fov.d in existence. Tbe flig"bt-pond, witb its ponderous apparatus, 

 was specially invented for tbe purpose of capturing- tbese birds ; tbeir 

 cunning being- such tbat tbey elude the vigilance of the most practised 

 decoyer. Pochards are fond of visiting- decoys, and often frequent 

 them in larg-e numbers : they may sometimes be enticed a considerable 

 distance up the pipe in company with widg-eon ; but,notwithstanding- 

 such enticement, they are not to be taken in a decoy-pipe. When 

 dang-er is apparent, they instantly dive, and return to the open water 

 by the route they entered, though beneath the surface. Other wild- 

 fowl in their company may be captured — every one of them; but not 

 a single dun-bird. Instances have occurred where an occasional 

 straggler, with less cunning than his fellows, has been hurried up 

 the decoy-pipe, en mass:, with numbers of widgeon j but it is, never- 

 theless, a rare occurrence to take a pochard in the decoy-pipe. 



As a species, the dun-bird is very abundant, the immense flights 

 which used to visit our coast being- of almost incredible extent : and 

 it was nothing unusual, during favourable seasons, for several acres 

 of inland water to be literally covered with them, as closely packed 

 as possible for them to sit. 



When suspecting danger, and on a small decoy, it is sometimes a 

 difficult matter to induce them to take wing ; but on large open 

 waters and tidal rivers they are remarkably wary of the presence of 

 liuman form. In decoys they will sometimes suifer themselves to be 



