128 ANATID^. 



is a favourite place of resort, and one day in particular, during a 

 very severe snow-storm, they were literally in thousands there ; — 

 the sui'face of the river exhibited one living mass of them. Tor 

 many seasons before and after those, pochards were very scarce. 

 In the winter of 1847-48, the chief wild-fowl shooter in the 

 bay obtained only a couple, and, during some other winters, none 

 at all. Occasionally they associate with scaup and tufted ducks. 

 They appear the second of the Fuligida — after the scaup, and 

 before the tufted duck — and generally arrive by the latter end of 

 October ; but December* is usually the earliest winter month in 

 which they are met with in quantity. January or February, espe- 

 cially the former, is the height of their season. They generally 

 take their departure in March, throughout which month, until the 

 25th, they were here in 1836 : — about two dozen Fidigula, believed 

 to be of this species, were seen on Ballydrain Lake, on the 15th of 

 April, 1832. On the same day of that month, in 1850, one was 

 obtained near Lurgan. 



Pochards, as well as scaups and tufted ducks, fly at the dusk 

 of the evening, like the wigeon, to the sea-banks to feed, but at 

 a later hour. I have known several of the two first-named species 

 to be brought by the flowing tide within range, and shot from the 

 barrel in which a fowler was awaiting the flight of wigeon. Po- 

 chards and scaups, when wounded on their feeding-banks, run very 

 fast, assisted by their wings, and, when pursued, always move 

 towards the water, in the hope of being the better able to save 

 themselves by diving. A wild-fowl shooter gives an amusing 

 account of the chase of a pochard. He had at one shot wounded 

 two or three, and, as he thought, killed four. The most active of 

 the wounded was fu'st looked after, as it was hurrying with all 

 speed towards the water, which was distant. The shooter followed 

 as quickly as he could, knee-deep, through the soft muddy 

 banks, until weakness and want of breath rendered him unable to 

 move a step farther. The bird, fortunately for him, stopped at 

 the same time, i)erhaps equally requiring to " draw breath.^^ So 



* In this mouth they were once plentiful, when other Anatidm were scai'ce. 



