﻿144 ANATID.E. 



inlets avc well supplied with rushes, or on the wide open 

 surface of the water, this bird is equally at ease, and it 

 extends from thence over ponds, springy pools, and bogs, 

 where the water is deep enough to hold certain favourite 

 aquatic plants. In several instances this species has been 

 known to resort to ponds situated in the midst of forests ; 

 it appears therefore immaterial whether the country it frequents 

 is of a wooded or open description. 



The Red-crested Pochard is a very conspicuous bird in 

 consequence of its crest and bright red beak ; and may, by 

 their means, be easily distinguished from other species. Its 

 habits resemble those of the Red-headed Pochard : it does 

 not, by choice, pass much of its time on land, and resorts to 

 the water on the slightest approach of danger. Its capacities 

 in swimming and diving are very great, and its flight is 

 equally swift and strong as that of most ducks. 



Sociability among its own species is one of the virtues 

 of the Red-crested Pochard, and it is consequently more 

 generally seen in flocks than singly : this attachment to its 

 associates is so great, that when a flock has been scattered, 

 the birds fly constantly about until the party is reunited, 

 and then they return again to the spot they left at first. 



The call -note of this species is said to resemble the hoarse 

 note of a crow more than that of a duck ; but it does not 

 often utter any sound unless it is provoked to do so. 



The food of the Red-crested Pochard consists of divers 

 parts of aquatic plants, insects, small fry, frogs, and Crustacea,, 

 which latter it principally obtains either by diving or dipping 

 its head under water, so as to reach the soft mud below. 



The Red-crested Pochard breeds in most of the before- 

 named countries : in Europe most frequently in the south of 

 Hungary ; but in central Asia the greater number are, how- 

 ever, produced. The most usual place for the nest is the 



