io 4 BROADLAND SPORT 



two or three years old, nor, in some cases, do they breed until 

 then, which may account for their presence amongst us during 

 the summer months, as some of them may always be found 

 in the roadsteads off Broadland, in small flocks, accompanied 

 by very old birds, who have no object in migrating to the 

 breeding countries. This peculiarity is also common to 

 certain waders, gulls, and last, but not least, swans. 



Between true " curres " and " surface feeders " there 

 exists an intermediate variety, which partake of the habits 

 of each, such as tufted ducks, etc. Golden eyes form 

 another link in the chain connecting tufters and scaups, 

 but the fear of being tedious prevents further minute 

 details being given here. 



The little tufter embodies high edible qualities, although 

 often seen and shot in company with his oleaginous, 

 mollusc-feeding brethren, which shows that he does not 

 cultivate their piscivorous tastes, although he may freely 

 mix with them. All " curres " are not unpalatable, for their 

 is yet another variety in the fresh- water-loving " curre," 

 namely pochards (commonly known in Broadland as 

 " pokers "), which never feed in salt water unless forced there 

 by unavoidable circumstances. These fowl are strict vege- 

 tarians, delighting in a weed called pochard grass, of which 

 the greatest beds in Broadland exist on Hickling Broad and 

 Heigham Sounds, whither they flight in from the surrounding 

 country with great regularity at sundown, leaving early 

 for their resting-places in the morning. This shows that they 

 have a flighting disposition similar to the long- winged species, 

 of which true " curres " possess no spark ; yet they are 

 similar in one respect, in that they always keep to the open 

 water, and, when disturbed, invariably remain over the 

 water, avoiding the land as much as possible. " Curres " 

 afford little or no sport to the shoulder gunner, and are 

 only fit quarry for a punt gun ; in fact, they can be secured 

 in no quantities by any other method, as with " curre " in- 

 stinctiveness they are immovable to the blandishments of 

 the decoy-man. 



