228 
TUFTED POCHARDS. 
tliey are swimming and sporting in the water, and they 
emit a grunting sort of cry. At high water they are seen 
resting in flocks at some distance from the shores, which 
they approach when the tide recedes. 
In the end of March and beginning of April they dis- • 
appear from our coasts, and are said to resort to the 
northern parts of Europe, where they rear their young. 
The species occurs also in North America, frequenting 
in winter the large rivers as well as the bays, and feeding 
partly on vegetable substances. When kept in confinement, 
it readily eats grain. Montagu says, that * during the 
summer months, when the larvas of various insects are to be 
found in the mud at the bottom of the pond, these birds 
are continually diving ; but they are perfectly contented 
with the barley, and will become so tame as to come to the 
edge of the water for a bit of bread.' 
The Tufted Scaup Duck is about fourteen inches long ; 
it has a broad flat bill, enlarged towards the end, of leaden 
grey colour. The head and upper parts of the neck are 
purplish black ; the upper parts of the body are also black, 
but, being minutely dotted with white, it has a greyish ap- 
pearance ; there is a white band across the wings, alid the 
breast and sides are white, the abdomen being dusky. The 
feathers upon the head of this bird are elongated into a 
large drooping crest, which gives it a singular appearance. 
The Tufted Pochards arrive here in October, and depart 
in April. They are generally dispersed over the country, 
frequenting lakes, pools, and marshes, and the still parts 
of rivers, where they feed chiefly on insects, testaceous 
mollusca, and worms, in quest of which they dive. They very 
seldom appear in flocks of large size, from tAvo to six or 
eight being more commonly met with. Like the other 
species of this genus, they have a rapid, direct flight ; swim 
wdth rapidity, dive expertly, and are with difliculty shot on 
the water. They rise with ease on the wing, and alight 
abruptly. When the fresh waters are frozen they betake 
themselves to the sea, and subsist chiefly on bivalve mollusca, 
such as cockles, mussels, &c. Even during open weather, they 
are often seen in the shallow bays and estuaries. Although 
the flesh is good, they arc not in much request as an article of 
