KED-CRESTED POCHAED 117 



AVERAGE MEASUREMENTS. 



TOTAL LENGTH 19 in. 



WING ... ... .,. 10-5 



BEAK ... ... ... 1'3 ,, 



TARSO-METATARSUS 1*5 ,, 



EGG 2-1 x 1-5 in. 



RED-CRESTED POCHARD. Netta rufina (Pallas). 



Coloured Figures. Gould, ' Birds of Great Britain,' vol. v, 

 pi. 22 ; Dresser, ' Birds of Europe,' vol. vi, pi. 435 ; 

 Lilford, ' Coloured Figures,' vol. vii, pi. 43. 



The Red-crested Pochard is a very rare wanderer to the 

 British Isles, its breeding-haunts being Southern Europe, 

 North Africa and Asia. The earliest occurrence known is 

 that of a female, obtained in Norfolk in 1818 (Saunders). 

 Several others have been recorded from the same county. 

 It has subsequently been obtained in the following coun- 

 ties : Northumberland, Westmoreland, Lincoln, Essex, 

 Devon, Cornwall, Pembroke, occurring, as may be seen, 

 most frequently on the east coast. 1 There are other records, 

 from London markets (Leadenhall), and from the Thames. 



In Scotland, there appears to be but one capture re- 

 corded, namely, a bird taken in Argyll, January, 1862 

 (Gray, ' Birds "of West Scotland'). 



Likewise from Ireland, only one example has been re- 

 corded, namely, a bird obtained near Tralee, co. Kerry, 

 January 18th, 1881 (Ussher, ' Zoologist,' 1881, p. 143), 

 and exhibited by More, before the Zoological Society of 

 London, on March 15th, 1881 (Proc. Zool. Soc., 1881, 

 p. 409). 



The rich, handsome plumage of the adult male should 

 at once attract the attention of the observer in the field. 



Food. This Pochard feeds on a variety of aquatic 

 creatures, on frogs, fish, insects, and vegetable matter. Its 

 flesh is considered palatable. 



Voice. The voice is loud, consisting of harsh, deep 

 notes, uttered chiefly at night ; the male also whistles 

 in a high key. 



1 Kecently, a specimen was shot at Redcar, in Yorkshire, on 

 January 20th, 1900 (T. H. Nelson, 'Zoologist,' 1900, p. 483). 



