586 BRITISH BIRDS. 



inch, and in breadth from 1'65 to 1*55 inch. They scarcely differ in colour 

 from those of the Scaup, Pochard, and Pheasant. The down is greyish 

 black, with very obscure white centres, but without white tips ; it is both 

 smaller and darker than that of the Pochard, an important point of identifi- 

 cation, as small eggs of that species are indistinguishable from large eggs 

 of the Tufted Duck. 



After the young are hatched, they are carefully tended by the female, 

 who does not lead them amongst the rushes on the approach of danger, as 

 most Ducks do, but calls them into the middle of the pond. Whitaker 

 assures me that the male bird is never seen with the female and the young 

 brood. Although he has moulted into a plain plumage, to all appearance 

 expressly for the purpose of tending his young family without exposing 

 them to danger by the conspicuousness of his dress, he neglects his parental 

 duties, preferring the society of his own sex until pairing-time comes 

 round again. His sole object, like that of other drakes, in assuming the 

 female plumage is the selfish one of making himself as inconspicuous as 

 possible whilst he performs the important operation of moulting his quills 

 and tail-feathers. 



The food of the Tufted Duck consists of water-insects of all kinds and 

 small shell-fish ; but this diet is varied with the tender shoots of various 

 aquatic plants, and small stones are found in its gizzard. 



The Tufted Duck is very gregarious in winter. In the Mediterranean 

 it is sometimes seen in very large flocks, especially on the sea-coast, but 

 wherever it can obtain suitable feeding-grounds inland, even in winter, it 

 eagerly avails itself of them. Jerdon describes it as frequenting open 

 tanks during the cold season in India, generally in small parties, and he 

 specially mentions its habit of keeping well away from the edges. 



The Tufted Duck is rather larger than the Wigeon. The adult male 

 in full nuptial dress scarcely differs in colour from the adult male 

 Scaup, except that the vermiculations on the upper parts are confined 

 to obscure traces on the mantle and scapulars resembling buffish-white 

 dust. It is further distinguished by having a conspicuous crest of 

 filamented feathers confined to the centre of the crown. Bill slate- 

 grey, black at the tip ; legs and feet bluish grey, darker on the webs ; 

 irides bright yellow. The adult female, like those of the two preceding 

 species, closely resembles the adult male in the general distribution of 

 its colours, and has all the black feathers replaced by brown (with the 

 exception of the outer webs of the innermost secondaries, which are 

 glossed with green as in the male), which is less clearly defined from 

 the white belly than it is in the male and also extends to the flanks ; the 

 crest is also smaller. Young in first plumage closely resemble adult females, 

 but are paler brown, especially on the chin and throat, and have no metallic 

 green gloss on the innermost secondaries. There are more white feathers 



