﻿SCAUP POCHARD. 153 



The hardy nature of the Scaup Pochard makes it able to 

 endure severe cold ; but as its principal food must be obtained 

 from the bottom of the sea, and, moreover, about the more 

 still waters at the mouths of rivers, it i3 natural that the bird 

 is driven southward by frosty weather, in order to satisfy its 

 wants. When it is driven in, this manner to resort to lakes or 

 more sheltered situations, it becomes necessary that the bird 

 makes shift with aquatic vegetables, &c; it is therefore only 

 under such circumstances that it is seen by chance elsewhere 

 than on the immediate sea- coast. 



In confinement, the Scaup Pochard becomes soon tame, and 

 thrives well on seeds and grain ; under which circumstances 

 it also loses in a great degree the fishy flavour of its flesh, 

 which is said to become equal to that of the Mallard or Wild 

 Duck. 



The Scaup Pochard breeds in all the northern countries, 

 such as Norway, Iceland, Greenland, and the countries 

 around Hudson's Bay. The nest is put together of dried 

 stalks, grasses, decayed leaves, and such herbage as can be 

 found in the place, and the eggs are from eight to ten in num- 

 ber, and are in shape, size, and colour, as represented in our 

 Plate. 



In consequence of the severity of the climate, the female 

 does not begin to lay before May, and by the middle of Oc- 

 tober the family are commencing their journey to the south. 



The length of the present species is twenty inches ; that 

 of the beak, from the forehead to the tip, one inch ten 

 lines ; the tarsus measures one inch and a half; the wing eight 

 inches six lines. 



The plumage of the adult male in the spring is very dis- 

 tinctly marked ; the head and neck are what is termed dark 

 duck-green ; the upper part of the back, sides, and breast are 

 black, as also the rump, vent, and upper and under tail- 



