218 INDIAN DUCKS. 



Adult female. — Forehead and crown dark brown, fading to dull fulvous- 

 brown on the hind-neck, sides of the head and neck, and thence to pale fulvous- 

 grey, or greyish-white, on chin, throat, and fore-neck ; back and scapulars 

 greyish-brown, with greyish verniiculations mixed with black, the vermiculations 

 varying very much in extent and being sometimes almost wanting ; lower back, 

 rump, and upper tail-coverts blackish, the external feathers of the rump with a few- 

 fine white bars ; tail and wings as in the male, but the latter much duller and 

 less vermiculated ; whole lower parts pale dull grey, tinged with rufous-l)rown 

 on the breast and sides, and darker brown towards the vent and under tail- 

 coverts. 



Irides dull yellow, rarely brown ; bill as in the male, but generally with the 

 blue more restricted in extent and a duller shade ; legs and feet similar to those 

 of the male, but duller on the average. 



"Length 17-25 to 3 8 inches, expanse 28-75 to .31-5, wing 7-9 to 8-3, tail from 

 vent 2-2 to 3-1, tarsus 1-4 to 1-5, bill from gape 2 to 2-19. Weight 1 lb. 5 ozs. 

 to 2 lb. 4 ozs." {Hume.) 



Young males resemble the females, but have the bead much more reddish 

 and also paler, and, according to Finn, are usually browner below. 



" The male in undress retains much of his full colour, merely getting a 

 browner head, a dark-pencilled grey breast, and duller tail-coverts." (Finn, 

 'Asian.') 



" Males in first nuptial dress differ from the adults in having the chestnut 

 of the head and neck paler, and the black of the breast and upper back replaced 

 by dark brown. 



" Young in down, according to Naumann, are dark brown on the upper parts, 

 shading into rusty brown on the head and neck ; underparts dirty yellowish-white : 

 bill and feet light bluish ; iris grey." (Sahadori.) 



The Pochard, Red-headed Pochard^ or Dun-bird, as it is variously 

 called, has a very wide distribution, practically throughout the Paloearctic 

 region from Iceland to Japan. It breeds almost throughout the more' 

 southern portions of this area, but very rarely to the east, not at all to the 

 extreme east, and it winters throughout Southern Europe and Asia and 

 also in Northern Africa. Seebohm (' Birds of the Japanese Empire ') says : 

 "The Pochard occurs both in Yezzo and the more southerly Japanese 

 islands, but whether it be resident or only a winter resident there seems to 

 be no evidence to determine.*' 



Nyroca ferina is separated by >Salvadori from the American forms to 

 which the names americana and vallisneria are applied. Many ornitho- 

 logists unite americana and ferina, and in this case the whole of North 

 America must be added to its habitat ; and, consequently, also its breeding- 

 range would then become circumpolar with the exceptions already noted. 

 The American bird is larger, has more and clearer l)lue on the bill, a purer 

 white to the underparts, and a purple gloss on the head and neck. 



