154 NYROCA FERINA 



and awkwardly; when hurried they frequently fall and are soon exhausted. They 

 are evidently ill adapted to feeding on land and are seldom seen ashore. When 

 standing still they hold the body in a more vertical position than in any of the sur- 

 face-feeding ducks, but when they are walking the body is more horizontal, though 

 the gait is rolling and clumsy. 



Most pictures of swimming Pochards show the bird riding like a cork, with the 

 tail above the water and the breast well exposed. It is true that at times they do 

 float rather lightly, but generally the body is low, the tail dragging on or in the 

 water; when frightened or in play the forward part of the mantle may be level with 

 the surface, or even submerged. The artist draws the profile of diving ducks more 

 with the idea of representing the plumage than of showing the characteristic swim- 

 ming attitude. 



This bird is an active diver, and although it feeds in waters of very moderate 

 depths, so that it does not have to stay under more than one-half to one minute, it 

 seems able in exceptional cases to stay under a longer time, possibly up to three 

 minutes (Naumann, 1896-1905), although I feel very doubtful about such long 

 periods. J. M. Dewar (1924) in his book on the diving habits of various birds has 

 shown the Pochard's preference for shallow waters; indeed, the optimum depth of 

 those he studied was only three feet, the greatest depth eight feet and the longest 

 dive only twenty -five seconds. The vegetable food is swallowed beneath the surface, 

 but small fish are sometimes brought to the surface according to Millais (1913). I 

 have observed this with Red-heads and Scaups in confinement. When feeding on 

 rich bottom they usually reappear at the same place from which they dived. They 

 do not ordinarily use their wings under water, although it would not be safe to assert 

 that they "never" do so, for we now know that many diving birds which were sup- 

 posed never to use their wings in the water do so at times. Pochards and other ducks 

 make use of their wings under water to escape when wounded. 



Flight. In flight the sharp, pointed wings are moved rapidly, producing a more 

 or less characteristic sound, rather rustling than whistling in its nature. Like other 

 fuliguline ducks, when disturbed, they do not take wing immediately, but swim a 

 short distance, huddle together, and when further alarmed, rise head to the wind 

 and scurry along for a number of yards before clearing the surface. If the wind be 

 strong they clear the water very quickly and, having risen ten or fifteen yards, swing 

 away from the danger point. Like our American Red-heads, Pochards fly in com- 

 pact flocks when going short distances or when close to the water, but when they 

 have mounted out of gunshot or are crossing dangerous ground these flocks thin out 

 into long wavering lines, blunt wedges or even V-shapes. Like our Red-heads, too, 

 they sometimes come out of the air at an abrupt angle, cutting down to the water at 

 such a tremendous speed that the stiffened wings produce a loud humming sound. 



