206 FULIGULIN^:. 



FAMILY XXXV. FULIGULIN^E (SEA DUCKS). 



GENUS XCVI FULIGULA (POCHARD). 



SPECIES 197 THE SCAUP POCHARD. 



Fuligula marila. Stephens. 

 Canard milouinan. Temm. 



Bridle Duck. Black-headed Diver. 



THIS species, characterized by the large, heavy form distin- 

 guishing the pochards from the compact elegance of shape 

 which we observe in the true ducks (as the widgeon and teal), 

 is common in its occurrence, and is found during winter fre- 

 Cjuenting the entrances of large rivers and estuaries, or in 

 situations, as at Malahide, where beds of shellfish afford them 

 sufficient food by diving, and sandbars exposed by the tide 

 allow a secure resting-place from danger. 



The scaup affords a small proportion to the numbers of 

 teal, widgeon, and common pochards, which principally stock 

 the markets during winter ; and in the adult plumage of both 

 sexes is seldom observed, the immature birds forming nearly 

 nine -tenths of the numbers obtained. 



Rarely frequenting inland waters, the scaup is eminently a 

 sea duck, and at times is observed at a considerable distance 

 from land, as in the instance of a flock remarked by J. M'Cul- 

 logh, Esq., consisting of 1000 or 1300 birds, nearly fourteen 

 miles from land, on the Wicklow coast, all of which exhibited 

 the greatest tameness, not rising until within a short distance 

 of the cutter in which our informant was. During the severity 

 of winter the scaup duck ventures closely on the shore, so 

 much so, that we have observed small flocks and single birds 

 floating unsuspiciously in the neighbourhood of the Light- 

 house situated at the end of the North Wall, and similarly 

 at the embankment at Clontarf, and from both places success- 

 ful shots are known to have been obtained at them from land. 

 The scaup exhibits a fine example of the beautiful minute 

 markings peculiar to the birds of this family. 



Habitat Northern Europe. 



