OF THE BEITISH ISLANDS. 391 



Family ANATID^. Genus NYBOCA. 



Subfamily 



POCHARD. 



NYROCA FEEINA (Linnasus). 



Anas ferina, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 230 (1766). 



Aythya ferina (Linn.), Macgill. Brit. B. v. p. 103 (1852). 



Fuligula ferina (Linn.), Dresser, B. Bur. vi. p. 551, pi. 434 (1878) ; Sccbohm, Hist. 

 Brit. B. iii. p. 575 (1885) ; Yarrell, Brit. B. ed. 4, iv. p. 413 (1885) ; Lilford, Col. 

 Fig. Brit. B. pt. xiii. (1890); Dixon, Nests and Eggs Brit. B. p. 239 (1893); 

 Seebohm, Col. Fig. Eggs Brit. B. p. 45, pi. 14 (1896). 



Nyroca ferina (Linn.), Salvadori, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xxvii. p. 335 (1895); Sharpe, 

 Handb. B. Gt. Brit. iii. p. 5 (1896). 



Geographical distribution. British: The Pochard is a common 

 winter visitor to the United Kingdom, but many remain in spring to breed in our 

 Islands. It is abundant in Scotland, including the Orkneys and Shetlands, but 

 rarer in the Outer Hebrides. It breeds very locally in South Perthshire and in Fife- 

 shire, in Moray, Eoss and Eoxburghshire ; as well as in Hoy (Orkney), as recorded 

 by Messrs. Evans and Buckley. It is equally common in Ireland in winter, and has 

 been said to breed in the counties of Sligo, Antrim, Tipperary, Galway, Eoscom- 

 mon, Westmeath, and Meath. It is commonly distributed in England between 

 autumn and spring, and breeds in Lancashire, the East Eiding of Yorkshire, Norfolk, 

 some of the midland counties, and Dorset. Foreign : West-central Palasarctic 

 region ; parts of Oriental region in winter. This Pochard is an accidental visitor to 

 the Faroes, Iceland, and Scandinavia. It breeds across Europe and Asia from the 

 British Islands in the west to Lake Baikal in the east, as far north as Lake Ladoga, 

 and as far south as the Caucasus in Europe ; but in Asia not further north than 

 Lake Baikal, southwards to North-western Mongolia and the lakes and swamps of 

 South-western Siberia. Great numbers of the European birds winter in the 

 basin of the Mediterranean ; and it is said that a few used to breed in Spain and 

 Algeria. The Asiatic birds pass Turkestan on migration, and winter in Asia 

 Minor, Persia, Afghanistan, India, and China. It was observed by Prjevalsky 

 on migration in South-eastern Mongolia, and occurs during winter in Japan. 



