﻿RED-CRESTED POCHARD. 145 



side of a bed of rushes most distant from the shore, and the 

 number of eggs six or seven. 



The young are able to fly about the beginning of July ; 

 the female is much attached to her young, but the male 

 leaves the nursery as soon as the female begins to sit. 



The Red-crested Pochard measures twenty-one inches 

 in length ; the beak, from the forehead, two inches two lines ; 

 the tarsus one inch four lines ; the wing from the carpus to 

 the tip, ten inches. 



The adult male has the head, cheeks, throat, and upper 

 part of the neck chestnut brown, tinged with rose red ; the 

 crest, which consists of elongated silky feathers covering the 

 top of the head, is ochre yellow; the back and lower part of 

 the neck, breast, belly, and vent, are black ; the upper tail- 

 coverts black, with green reflections ; the back, wings, and 

 tail, are pale cinereous brown ; the flanks, bend of the wing, 

 a spot on the sides of the back, speculum, and basal parts of 

 the primary quills, white, tinged with rose colour ; the side- 

 feathers of the breast are all bordered with dusky brown : 

 the tertials are greyish brown, the speculum white, with 

 a slate-coloured border. The beak, tarsus, and toes red ; 

 the webs of the feet dusky black ; the nail on the beak 

 reddish white ; the eyes bright red. 



The female has the legs and feet dingy yellow ; the beak 

 red, but duller than in the male ; the plumage on the top 

 of the head, forehead, and nape, brown ; the rest of the head 

 and neck are dingy, or soiled white ; the upper part of 

 the breast, upper part of the back and sides of the breast 

 and belly yellowish wood brown, with paler edges to some of 

 the feathers ; the middle of the belly white ; the speculum 

 as in the male ; the tail and back yellowish brown, or rather 

 Egyptian brown ; the quills dusky. 



