270 THE DIVING DUCKS 



great pace and a good height in the air. In the morning, according to 



Mr. Whitaker, they may be seen actively diving for weeds after their 



return from the feeding-grounds, and in the afternoon they rest and 



preen their feathers, becoming restless as flighting time approaches. 1 



Pairing takes place in March, when their harsh notes are often to be 



heard. Naumann writes this call as "karr, karrkarr," etc., or "korr, 



korr " ; but Mr. Whitaker, who has had excellent opportunities for 



observing this species, states that on a few occasions when he was 



close to the birds, and unseen by them, he heard a pleasant series of 



courting-notes uttered by the male as he swam round the female. 2 



These he describes as low, but very clear, resembling the sounds 



" tuc, tuc, tuck, quit, quit, quitta, wheeo, whit, quit, quit, quie." At intervals 



the drake throws the head backwards so as almost to touch the 



dorsal feathers, and also raises the fore part of the body slowly in 



the water, at the same time stretching the head and neck upwards. 



Mr. S. E. Brock states that these gestures may be seen from the 



end of February till after the pairing season. The note uttered 



on leaving the water or alighting, which is that referred to by 



Naumann, is graphically expressed by Mr. Whitaker as " curragh, 



curragh" Although the male is often the first to show uneasiness 



at the approach of danger, he does not leave the water till the 



duck takes to wing, uttering the familar " curragh " note. 



It is somewhat curious that the breeding season of the tufted- 

 duck should be so late. While the mallard has been known to lay in 

 February and frequently nests in March, the tufted-duck does not 

 begin to lay as a rule till mid-May, and often the clutches are incom- 

 plete at the beginning of June. According to all ornithological writers, 

 the pochard is comparatively a late breeder, and the average time for 

 full clutches is about the middle of May, but I have seen highly in- 

 cubated clutches of pochards' eggs, which must have been sat on for 



1 J. Whitaker, quoted by Seebohm, Hist, of Brit. Birds, iii. p. 585. 



1 Mr. S. E. Brock describes it as "a soft, liquid, several-syllabled utterance, rarely 

 penetrating to any distance," and commonly uttered in chorus by several drakes together 

 (Scott. Nat., 1912, p. 266). 



