THE POCHARD AND TUFTED-DUCK 269 



but directly her appetite was satisfied and she had had a good wash, 

 she returned to the nest as fast as she could swim. 1 The young only 

 remain in the nest for about a day after hatching, and then take to the 

 water, where they are quite at home, swimming and diving with 

 wonderful facility, but not trusting themselves far from the shelter of 

 the reeds and sedge, on the broken stems of which they can rest. Often 

 the same places are resorted to for this purpose day after day, and can 

 easily be distinguished by the accumulation of droppings beneath 

 them. One peculiarity about the young is shared by the other diving 

 ducks. This is the slow development of the wings as compared with 

 those of the surface-feeders, so that it is not till after they are in other 

 respects fully developed that they are able to fly. They then leave 

 the breeding-grounds and make for the larger sheets of open water, 

 forming small flocks, which tend to unite into larger bodies. The 

 whole of the work of tending the young falls upon the female, the 

 male taking no part whatever in the task, and when confined together 

 in an enclosure, the duck will drive off the male as long as she is 

 accompanied by the young. 



Much of what has been written of the pochard is true also of the 

 tufted-duck, but there are several important points of difference. 

 The tufted-duck is a much quicker and cleaner diver, and slips into 

 the water with much less of a commotion than the heavier pochard, 

 which rises from the surface to gain impetus before it plunges 

 downward. For quite half a minute 2 it remains at times below the 

 surface, tearing up the aquatic vegetation and bringing it to the sur- 

 face, and also keenly on the lookout for animal food (frogs, molluscs, 

 and insect larvae). The usual time during which they remain under 

 water when feeding is estimated by Mr. J. Whitaker at about fifteen 

 seconds. Exactly at twilight they rise from the ponds where they 

 have spent the day and fly to other feeding-grounds, travelling at a 



1 Cecil Smith, Zoologist, 1872, p. 3243. 



8 It has been stated that the tufted-duck can remain under water for a full minute, but 

 probably this was merely an estimate and not an accurately observed habit. 



VOL. IV. 2 M 



