264 THE WHITE-EYED POCHARD. 
All this negative evidence is only recorded guantum valeat 
which is, perhaps, not much ; but it will, at any rate, show how 
imperfect our knowledge of the distribution of this species still 
remains. 
Outside our limits, though never noted by Swinhoe, Pére David 
tells us that this species is common in the spring in the Pekin 
Province. Westwards, however, Prjevalski never seems to have 
met with it, in his explorations of the valley of the Hoango-ho, or 
even at the Koko-Nor, several degrees further south than Pekin. 
Westwards again it is common in summer, and breeds both in 
Eastern (Yarkand), and Western Turkestan. It has now been 
recorded or sent from several places in Afghanistan and Belu- 
chistan during the cold season ; was procured by Blanford near 
Ispahan in Persia in March, but at an elevation of 7,500 feet ; 
and is included in various Caspian lists. It is equally found, 
and breeds, in Asia Minor, in Palestine where but few breed, 
but where, in winter, it is extremely abundant, as it is in Lower 
Feypt, extending up-couritry along the Nile, &c., to Nubia. 
It occurs pretty well throughout Southern and Central Europe, 
not, however, I believe getting anywhere much north of the 
57 North Latitude, though it 4as, no doubt, been alleged to 
occur both near Archangel and in Iceland. It has only once 
or twice been recorded from Scotland—never from Ireland, 
Sweden, Norway, or Finland. 
They are occasionally seen at the Canaries,* and are abun- 
dant in Morocco and Algiers, in both which latter, as also in 
Southern Spain, Denmark, Germany, Russia, Hungary, Greece, 
&c., they remain to breed in greater or lesser numbers. 
In KASHMIR the majority are permanent residents; to 
the major portion, if not the whole of the rest of its Indian 
range, it is only a winter migrant, arriving in Northern India 
about the last week in October (though somewhat earlier in the 
submontane tracts) and a little later further south. Mr. Doig, 
indeed, writes that they only arrive on the Eastern Narra in 
December, but I think there must be some mistake here. 
Unquestionably weedy lakes and broads, containing moderate- 
ly deep water, are its favourite haunts in this country ; but I have 
occasionally met with it on river banks, small ponds, and even 
utterly bare shallow sheets of water, like the Sambhar Lake. 
It is seldom seex in the open water, and I have never seen 
any very huge flocks ; but while I have often met with pairs 
and small parties of from three to seven on small tarns and ponds, 
I have put up successively many hundreds from different parts 
of large rushy reedy lakes. Not ez masse, but successively, 
* Tt may possibly stray, as has now been more than once asserted, to Jamaica. 
A bird of this kind, that certainly occurs on the Canaries (and probably the Azores 
also) may well be occasionally blown over to the West Indies ; but these are clearly 
outside its normal range. 
