﻿TUFTED POCHARD. 157 



The call-note of the Tufted Pochard is a harsh expression, 

 sounding like the word curr, curr ! or carr, carr ! The young 

 chirp. 



Its food consists chiefly of aquatic insects, mollusca, and 

 bivalves, which it obtains by diving ; also small frogs and 

 their spawn ; and in case of need, it consumes parts of aquatic 

 plants, such as roots, buds, and seeds. On the borders of the 

 Baltic its principal food seems to consist of a particular 

 species of snail called Turbo litoreus. 



Formerly, the breeding-places of this species were con- 

 sidered to be exclusively found as far north as Lapland and 

 Finland ; but of late years the nest and eggs have frequently 

 been noticed in Mecklenburg. The stony borders of 

 small islands in lakes or rivers, not too much covered with 

 verdure or reeds, seem the most chosen spots, particularly 

 where some patches of rushes are close to the shore, but not 

 immediately joining the land. 



Before the beginning of June no nest is to be found of 

 the present species, although they pair early in the spring, 

 and may be seen flying about continually near the sur- 

 face of the water ; this fact proves plainly that the greater 

 numbers breed in high northern latitudes, where the ice 

 and snow do not give them a chance of thinking of it 

 sooner. 



The nest is either placed in a hollow on the grassy 

 ground, or under the shelter of a stone, stump of a tree, 

 or some vegetable production, at a distance of from sixty 

 to a hundred yards from the water. The nest itself is 

 composed of stalks and grasses, carelessly put together. 



The eggs vary from eight to ten in number, and 

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

 Plate. 



The male bird remains with the female until she begins 



