212 THE GUN: AFIELD AND AFLOAT 



effected by these means the bottom birds in the pit would 

 be killed and flattened out by the mass of fowl above 

 them. 



Some few Pochards nest in this country, but many 

 more come to winter here. At full length this bird 

 measures 19 in. or a little more, and weighs from 2 Ib. to 

 2 Ib. 6 oz. The rich 'chestnut-red head and red eye of 

 the Pochard causes it to be known in some parts as Red- 

 headed or Red-eyed Diver or Pochard. 



THE RED-CRESTED POCHARD, Fuligula rufina, is a 

 very rare wanderer from South-eastern Europe and Asia 

 that has been obtained about a score times in England. 

 This duck has a very conspicuous crest of rich chestnut, 

 and is considerably larger than our Pochard, as it 

 measures 22 in. in length and weighs a quarter of a 

 pound more. 



THE SCAUP DUCK, Fuligula marila, is a regular winter 

 visitor to the British Islands. From November onwards 

 through the winter Scaup may be found in thousands on 

 the shoal water off the coast. These thoroughly hardy 

 sea-going fowl are little affected by the hardest winters, 

 as, obtaining their food by diving, they can maintain 

 their condition when the surface-feeding ducks are 

 feeling the pinch very severely. The adult female has 

 a broad strip of white feathers along the base of the bill 

 and a brown head and neck. Birds of the year, male 

 and female, have this white frontal band, but in adult 

 males, as shown in the accompaning illustration, this is 

 absent, the head, neck, and breast being glossy black 

 shaded with green. The Scaup Duck measures 18 in. or 

 19 in. in length, and sometimes exceeds in weight 2\ Ib. 



THE TUFTED DUCK, Fuligula cristata, breeds in some 

 numbers in Ireland, Scotland, and parts of England ; it 



