204 ANATID^. 
286. Nyroca FERRUGiNEA(Gm.). The White-eyed Pochard 
or Ferruginous Duck. 
Moorish. Ziriguil {Favier). Andalucian. Negrete. 
The White-eyed Pochard may he considered, like the 
Marbled Duck, a summer resident on both sides of the Straits, 
and is by far the most abundant in Morocco. 
I saw many hundreds at the lakes of Ras-Dowra towards 
the end of April, being even then in large flocks. We shot 
some at flight in the evening at the same time as Anas angus- 
tirostris ; but the two species did not fly together. There were 
also a few of the White-eyed Ducks about the lake of Esmir 
at the end of March. Favier writes of the present species, 
that it is " abundant near Tangier, arriving from the south 
during May and departing in November and December, 
totally disappearing for a time in winter. They are most 
abundant at Ras Dowra, breeding in June and July, the incu- 
bation lasting thirty days." 
On the Spanish side, the White-eyed Duck is common 
during the breeding-season in some parts of the marismas, 
and commences to nest about the end of April. Lord Lilford 
obtained a nest in May 1872, in the Goto de Donana, composed 
of dead dry water-plants, flags, &c., lined with thick brownish 
white down and a few white feathers. It was placed at a short 
distance from the water, in high rushes, and contained nine 
eggs. Although they generally pass south early in autumn, 
I once saw and shot a single bird as late as the 6th 
of December, which, albeit in fair condition, from its 
excessive tameness, was probably from some cause incapable 
of migration. 
I have always found this Duck, like its allies, F. rufina and 
F. ferina, frequenting deep still weedy water rather than 
shallow open places ; and the flesh of the present species is 
not only, like theirs, excellent eating, but far surpasses either 
in that respect. 
The irides are white, excepting in the young birds, which 
have them reddish brown ; the speculum is white. 
Total length from 14 to 16 inches. 
