﻿WESTERN POCHARD. 161 



ject of Natural History, and particularly Ornithology, has be- 

 come a lucrative branch of trade, even among the uninitiated 

 part of the community. 



The flight of the present species is very swift, and it swims 

 and dives with great ease. In countries where the West- 

 ern Pochard abounds, we are informed that it keeps 

 together in flocks of its own species exclusively, and the pair 

 are inseparable. 



The food of this species is chiefly small shell-fish, which it 

 obtains by diving, and consequently busies itself all day long 

 in swimming over beds of such marine productions as are at 

 no great depth under water. Small fry, marine insects and 

 their larvae also supply part of its wants. 



The breeding-places are situated among the most inaccessi- 

 ble rocks on the shores of the ocean, and its young are led, 

 as soon as they are hatched, to the inlets of the sea. 



The entire length of the Western Pochard is eighteen 

 inches, the wing nine inches. 



The plumage of the male in the spring of the year has 

 the head and upper part of the neck white ; a pea-green spot 

 before the eyes, and another on the tuft about the nape of 

 the neck, which tuft has also a spot of black below the 

 green ; behind the eye is an irregular black mark, and from 

 the base of the under mandible extends a black streak that 

 surrounds the neck midway in the shape of a collar, and 

 finally runs down the back to the tail-coverts ; the under tail- 

 coverts and vent are also black; the quills and tail are dusky; 

 the upper part of the breast and its sides, the wing-coverts 

 and scapulars, are white : the tertials are long, pointed, and 

 curved downwards ; the four upper ones have the inner webs 

 white ; the outer, black, with blue reflections, and a white 

 shaft streak ; the speculum is blue, bordered with black and 

 white ; the entire breast and belly are brownish-yellow ; the 



