212 ORNAMENTAL WATERFOWL. 
for some months a sober garb. The bill is high at the base; 
the wings moderate in length ; the tail short and flexible; the 
feet large and broadly webbed, the hind toe lobated. Asa 
tule the eggs are numerous, rounder in shape than those of the 
True Ducks, and of a green or greenish-grey tint. The 
Pochards frequent the Northern Hemisphere and the regions 
about New Zealand, and are divided into five recognised species, 
of which the following have not been imported alive :-—Fuligula 
nova-zealandie and Fulgula collaris. 
SCAUP DUCK. 
(Fuligula marila). 
The Scaup Duck, which is plentiful on our shores in 
winter, disappearing again about April, is seen in large flocks, 
and seeks its food, which consists of mollusca and small 
crustacea, by diving. These birds are met with both in fresh 
and salt waters, to which latter they resort when the fresh waters 
are frozen, and may be seen feeding on mussels, cockles, and 
other shell fish. Their breeding haunts are in the Arctic 
Regions, but they have been known to nest, in a few instances, 
on certain lochs in Scotland. The “Mussel Duck,” as it is 
sometimes termed, is distributed throughout North America, 
Northern Africa, India, and Russia, as well as in other countries. 
It is awkward on land, but an excellent diver, owing to 
the broad-webbed hind toes, remaining immersed for a con- 
siderable time. 
The name ‘‘Scaup” is attributed by some authors to the 
cry which resembles a repetition of the syllables composing its 
name, frequently repeated and long drawn out. An old 
ornithologist, Willoughby, states that the broken shell fish, such 
as mussels, which forms the staple diet of this bird, is known 
as “scaup.” 
