SCAUP POCHARD. 139 



birds are compact and heavy, the wings compara- 

 tively short, but sharp-pointed, and propelling the 

 bird, when once fairly raised, by short, but rapid 

 and often-repeated strokes. The body is broad and 

 depressed, of a form fitted for buoyancy, but at the 

 same time, from its weight, sinking deep in the 

 water when swimming. 



The scaup is a regular winter visitant to the 

 coasts on the north of England and south of Scot- 

 land, and from the testimony of most writers it is 

 nearly equally so on both the southern and northern 

 extremes of our island. It arrives about the end of 

 October and continues with us till spring, frequent- 

 ing the lower lying coasts of a soft or muddy cha- 

 racter, and feeding on the smaller bivalves, which 

 are generally found there in abundance. We have 

 seen this duck only on the sea, perhaps entering the 

 mouth or estuary of some stream; but we have 

 not observed it, during winter, to frequent fresh 

 waters, either in the vicinity or at a distance from 

 the shore. It is a shy and wary bird, assembling 

 in flocks and feeding together ; at the same time, 

 with a stormy wind, we have sometimes openly got 

 within shot, while feeding in the mouths of the 

 muddy creeks, with which the shores of the Sol- 

 way Firth are in many parts intersected. It is 

 brought abundantly to the Edinburgh markets du- 

 ring winter. We are not aware of any instances of 

 this pochard breeding in Britain, but in 1834 we 

 shot a single specimen upon a small fresh -water 

 loch in Sutherlandshire, in the vicinity of the sea. 



