POCHAKD 119 



bers make their appearance during October around our 

 coasts and on inland waters ; about March they migrate 

 northward to breed. The Pochard is more often to be seen 

 on large sheets of fresh water than on the tideway. Even 

 in frosty weather this Duck is not anxious to change its 

 quarters, and will remain on a lake as long as there is a 

 small portion not frozen where it can procure its food by 

 diving. Travelling under water for some distance, this 

 bird, as it rises to the surface, may encounter the ice, 

 and being unable to obtain air, become suffocated. Dead 

 Pochards have repeatedly been found beneath the ice, espe- 

 cially in shallow water ; but prolonged and severe frost will 

 eventually drive this species to the coast, and large numbers 

 will also collect on estuaries after a heavy gale. 



The male Pochard, with his red head and light grey 

 back, can usually be identified with no great difficulty on 

 the w^ater. No other common Diving Duck, frequenting 

 inland lakes, resembles him in plumage. The Scaup has, 

 like the Pochard, a grey back, but its head is black, and 

 it is almost exclusively maritime in its habits. The male 

 Wigeon, not unlike the male Pochard in colour, could 

 hardly be mistaken for it, as the former is not a Diving 

 Duck, and rests much higher on the water. In build, the 

 Pochard is thickset and clumsy ; it progresses slowly and 

 awkwardly on land, another difference between it and the 

 active little Wigeon. When unmolested, the Pochard is 

 not very shy. I have often watched several scores of these 

 birds swimming and diving some fifty yards from the edge 

 of a lake. They swim so low on the water that they appear 

 smaller than they really are, and some of their movements 

 are rather strange. Thus, a flock will seldom pack closely, 

 the birds preferring to scatter widely over the water, where 

 they may be seen diving in rapid succession. They con- 

 stantly cross and recross one another, swimming over a 

 considerable area between each dive. When one of the 

 party is shot, the others, after taking a short flight, will 

 sometimes return to the same place. 



Food. Food is procured by diving, chiefly in shallow 

 water. Pond-weed is largely eaten, but birds frequenting 

 salt water descend to the bottom for shell-fish and crabs. 



Flight. The Pochard is often reluctant to fly, even to 

 escape danger, and like other Diving Ducks, it is not buoyant 

 on the wing. It seldom takes long flights, except when 

 migrating, and dislikes crossing overland. When alarmed, 



