OF THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 405 



haunts they affect in the daytime. It is at night, too, that they 

 chiefly move from place to place, as is proved by the frequency 

 that they are killed by the flight shooter. The food of this 

 beautiful Duck is principally composed of the roots, stems, leaves, 

 and juicy rhizomes of aquatic plants, arrow-grass, sagittarias and 

 horn-worts ; but insects and their larvse, worms, moUusks, frogs, 

 fish spawn, and occasionally small fish are eaten. The Red- 

 crested Pochard is most active in search of food early in the 

 morning, but during the great heat of the Indian day they 

 frequently float out into the centre of the water to sleep, and 

 here they are usually very quiet. The call-note of this species is 

 a deep grating kurr ; but the males in addition now and then 

 utter a whistling cry, both on the water and during flight. The 

 flesh of this Duck varies considerably in quality for table purposes, 

 probably a good deal owing to diet. 



Nidification.— The breeding season of the Red-crested 

 Pochard commences late in April or early in May in some 

 localities, not before June in others. The nest is rarely made far 

 from the water, and an island covered with flags and other aquatic 

 vegetation is selected where possible. It is made amongst the 

 herbage on the ground, of dead rushes, leaves, and other vegetable 

 refuse, and lined with a warm bed of down from the female's 

 breast. Nests found by Canon Tristram in Algeria are described 

 as being like that of the Coot, but not so large. The eggs are 

 from seven to ten in number, and described by Mr. Salvin as " a 

 most brilliant fresh green colour when unblown ; the contents 

 were no sooner expelled, and the egg dry, than the delicate tints 

 were gone, and their beauty sadly diminished." They are grayish 

 olive after being in collections for some time, and measure on an 

 average 2 '3 inches in length by i'6 inch in breadth. Down tufts 

 apparently undescribed. Only one brood is reared in the 

 year. 



Diagnostic Characters.— (Nuptial plumage), FuHgula, with 

 the head and upper neck chestnut, and the bill vermilion (adult 

 male) ; with the axillaries white, with no white alar speculum, and 

 with the head and neck yellowish white speckled with black (adult 

 female). Length, 20 to 22 inches. 



