DUCKS, GEESE, AND SWANS. 211 



Duck are very distinctive. The head and neck of 

 the male are rich chestnut ; the back scapulars and 

 flanks are white, finely-pencilled or vermiculated 

 with black ; the gorget and tail coverts are 

 black ; the under - surface grayish - white ; the 

 quills brown. The female has the head and neck 

 reddish-brown, the chin white, and the remainder 

 of the plumage much browner and more dingy than 

 in her mate. The Pochard is by no means exclu- 

 sively a marine Duck ; in fact, this species appears 

 to be as much attached to fresh -waters as to the 

 sea. Unfortunately, there is one thing about most 

 of these Sea Ducks which does much to detract 

 from their interest, and that is, they cannot readily 

 be observed from the shore, and appear upon our 

 seas at a season when the elements render the coast 

 least attractive. Most of these Ducks lie well off 

 the land, where the wild-fowler alone is tempted to 

 follow them ; or if approaching the shore more 

 closely, it is generally during rough tempestuous 

 weather, when all but the enthusiastic naturalist and 

 the gunner prefer to remain warm and comfortable 

 at home. The Pochard is no exception in this 

 respect. It arrives along our coasts in October, 

 and remains with us until the following March. It 

 is thoroughly aquatic in its habits, rarely visiting the 

 land, feeding both by day and by night (chiefly the 

 latter), and often flying for considerable distances, 

 about dusk, to waters where food is abundant. 

 Although its flight, at first, is slow and laboured, it 



