ANATIDA. 443 
THE COMMON POCHARD. 
Futfcuta Ferfna (Linnzus). 
This species is also known by the names “ Red-headed Poker” or 
“‘Red-eyed Poker” in the case of the male, while that of  Dun-bird ” 
is usually, but not exclusively, bestowed upon the female or the 
young. The Pochard is in the main a cold-weather visitor to 
England, though very irregular both as regards numbers and 
localities. It usually appears early in October and leaves again in 
spring ; but a good many now remain to breed on some of our 
inland waters, where, owing to efficient protection, they have 
increased of late. Such is the case at Merton and in other parts of 
Norfolk, at Hornsea Mere in Yorkshire, in Lancashire, Dorsetshire, 
Hertfordshire, and some localities which need not be named. In 
Scotland this species is generally distributed, except in the Outer 
Hebrides, though it breeds in Tiree ; and it nests in Ross, Moray, 
Perthshire, Fifeshire, Roxburghshire, and in the Orkneys ; visiting 
the Shetlands. In Ireland it is widely distributed over inland waters 
in winter, and there is evidence that it has nested in many counties. 
The Pochard is only a wanderer to the Feeroes and Iceland, while 
it is not common in any part of Scandinavia; but in Russia it 
breeds as far north as Lake Ladoga, and southward to the Caspian. 
