279 
British and other shores, where they are 
said to remain till the end of February or 
later. They are very shy and wary birds, 
feeding only in the night, and lurking con- 
cealed among the rushes in the watery waste 
during the day, in which they are seldom 
seen on the wing. These birds shew 
themselves expert in diving as well as in 
swimming, and often disappoint the sports- 
man in his aim, for the instant they see 
the flash of the pan, they disappear and 
dive to a distant secure retreat. 
The feathers at the back of the head of the 
Male, are somewhat elongated and form a 
kind of crest. This circumstance is not 
noticed by either Bewick or Montagu. 
The latter author states that " this species 
of Duck appears to be extremely rare in 
England, so much so, that in no instance 
have we been able to procure a fresh spe- 
cimen, in the great number of years we 
have attended to Ornithology." Bewick 
has not given a figure of the bird proba- 
bly from the same cause. 
It makes a noise similar to that of the 
Mallard, but louder. Its flesh is excellent. 
