236 NY ROC A FULIGULA 



tamer and in parks and public gardens where they are regularly fed by the public as 

 in St. James Park, London, or at the outlet of Lake Geneva they are perfectly tame 

 and familiar. Hume noticed that in driving big lakes in India with a line of boats the 

 "Tufteds" could be harried back and forth all day and were very loath to leave their 

 favorite water until night, at which time they left for good. This was exactly op- 

 posite to the actions of the Gadwall, Teal and other ducks that left before the third 

 or fourth drive but were back on their old grounds next morning. 



"Tufteds" were never easy to take in the old-time decoys and like Pochard figure 

 rarely in the lists of birds captured by that primitive art. 



Daily Movements. Not differing from many other diving ducks; they are 

 largely day -feeders and spend their daylight hours rather far out on open sheets of 

 water. I do not know how much they feed at night, but have no doubt they can do so 

 when hard pressed. Their local journeys seem to be performed chiefly at night, and 

 like all ducks they are more restless and active in the morning and evening. Lord 

 Lilford thought them less nocturnal in their feeding than Pochards and Scaups in 

 southern Europe. 



Gait, Swimming and Diving. These little ducks are awkward enough on land 

 and are feeble walkers. Few observers have seen them feeding on shore but in the 

 breeding and pairing season they spend more time on land resting and preening 

 their feathers. They do not fly from land, but scramble first into the water. Finn 

 (1915) considers them more awkward than any other of the true diving ducks, 

 "hobbling as if lame in both feet." 



They often sit low on the water, with the tail dragging or submerged, especially 

 if alarmed or actively feeding, but at other times they float higher. Often they 

 prefer to leave a danger spot by swimming and diving rather than by flying. I have 

 never heard of their perching. 



This is an extremely active diver, procuring most of its food on the bottom, flocks 

 often diving almost in unison. They seem to prefer moderate depths, from two or 

 three feet to six or eight, and as a rule the time under water is short. I think the 

 average time of dives for all the diving ducks has been greatly exaggerated. Fifteen 

 or twenty seconds is a fair average for many species at moderate depths and any- 

 thing over thirty or forty seconds is a long dive. Fifty seconds or over is exceptional 

 even in the case of the deep-water sea ducks. I doubt very much if these little ducks 

 stay under more than fifteen or twenty seconds on an average when diving in two to 

 eight feet of water. Mr. Dewar (1924) has recently had a good deal to say about 

 this duck in his book on the diving habits of birds. The greatest depth which he 

 recorded was only sixteen feet and the longest dive was forty seconds. Most dives 

 took place in two to six feet of water. The wings are not ordinarily used in diving 



