200 NYROCA NYROCA 



in Kashmir. Systematically it stands quite apart from the true Pochards and 

 differs from them in its habits, courtship and the appearance of its downy young. 

 It forms a rather closely knit group with its oriental relative, Baer's Pochard or 

 White-eye, the Madagascan White-eye and the Australian White-eye. This group 

 again is slightly different from the Common Tufted Duck and still further removed 

 from the South African Pochard and the Common Scaups. 



It is a fresh-water duck with "skulking and secretive" habits, rather local and 

 more or less sedentary over a good part of its range. In some places, such as the 

 /Egean Sea, and also in India, it resorts to salt water regularly but probably this is 

 not entirely from choice. Nevertheless it may be classed as a strictly fresh-water 

 duck. 



During migration it is found at high altitudes, 7500 feet in eastern Persia (Blan- 

 ford, 1876) and 12,000 to even 15,200 feet in southern Tibet (H. J. Walton, 1906). 

 In Kashmir, it is a common resident at 5000 feet, and in Turkestan it is said to breed 

 between 3000 and 4000 feet although rather rare above 1000 feet (Lansdell, 1885). 



Its natural preferences are for weedy lakes and pools of moderate depth, sur- 

 rounded by thick vegetation. A great part of the time it keeps out of sight, seldom 

 coming out in any numbers into open water. The best general accounts of the life- 

 history of the bird are given by Hume and Marshall (1879), Naumann (1896-1905) 

 and Baker (1921). 



The White-eye has for field-marks the white eye, reddish head and white wing- 

 bar in the male, but the females and young are easily mistaken for the females of the 

 Tufted Duck (see under Description). 



Wariness. There is no doubt about the rather stupid nature of the White-eye. 

 All sportsmen agree to this and have a good deal to say about how closely it lies in 

 the reed beds when a boat is pushed through its haunts. In India it is easy to get 

 rising shots in this way at not over twenty yards distance so that large bags are 

 often made. This is about the last duck to leave a piece of water after a bombard- 

 ment begins, trusting rather to its habits of concealment than to removing to a safe 

 distance as any sensible duck ought to do. Then, too, the flocks are small and 

 scattered about, so that only a few get up at a time. 



Daily Movements. There seems to be rather a marked difference between the 

 White-eye and the Pochards in respect to their feeding times. The present species 

 is mostly a day-feeder and is active throughout the noon hours. Moreover it does 

 not have as marked morning and evening flights as do other diving ducks, for it is 

 satisfied to stay in its chosen spot for long periods (Jerdon, 1864; Hume and Mar- 

 shall, 1879). Of course where it has to spend the day on "bare-shored" lakes or 

 rivers or in the sea (Harrison, 1918) it changes its ground toward evening. Hume 



