POCHARD.
This handsome Duck, the Anas ferina of Linnæus, and the Nyroca or Fuligula ferina of modern writers, is another winter visitor to the British Islands, where, however, it breeds locally, and in somewhat limited numbers, thus coming within the category of our resident species. In some districts the male of this Duck is known as the “Red-headed Poker,” the female as the “Dunbird” or “Dunker.” The colours of this Duck are very distinctive. The head and neck of the male are rich chestnut; the back scapulars and flanks are white, finely-pencilled or vermiculated with black; the gorget and tail coverts are black; the under-surface grayish-white; the quills brown. The female has the head and neck reddish-brown, the chin white, and the remainder of the plumage much browner and more dingy than in her mate. The Pochard is by no means exclusively a marine Duck; in fact, this species appears to be as much attached to fresh-waters as to the sea. Unfortunately, there is one thing about most of these Sea Ducks which does much to detract from their interest, and that is, they cannot readily be observed from the shore, and appear upon our seas at a season when the elements render the coast least attractive. Most of these Ducks lie well off the land, where the wild-fowler alone is tempted to follow them; or if approaching the shore more closely, it is generally during rough tempestuous weather, when all but the enthusiastic naturalist and the gunner prefer to remain warm and comfortable at home. The Pochard is no exception in this respect. It arrives along our coasts in October, and remains with us until the following March. It is thoroughly aquatic in its habits, rarely visiting the land, feeding both by day and by night (chiefly the latter), and often flying for considerable distances, about dusk, to waters where food is abundant. Although its flight, at first, is slow and laboured, it soon becomes very rapid, and the quickly-beating wings make a rustling sound very characteristic of this species. The Pochard is another expert diver, and by this means obtains most of its food, visiting the bottom and bringing up masses of weeds to eat them on the surface. On the coast its food largely consists of crustaceans and molluscs, as well as marine plants. The note of this species is a loud and harsh kurr.
The haunts of the Pochard in summer are large and open sheets of water, surrounded by a luxuriant growth of sedge, rush, iris, and similar plants, or situated on higher ground clothed with heath, gorse, and coarse grass. It is a social bird during the breeding period, several females often nesting close together. The nest is always made near fresh water, and in many cases absolutely floats on rafts of fallen and rotting vegetation several yards from the bank, or rests in some tussock surrounded by shallow water. A bed of iris, or a crown of rushes, is another favourite spot. It is made of dry grass and fragments of any aquatic vegetation obtainable, and lined with down from the female’s body. The eggs—usually from eight to twelve, sometimes more—are brownish-gray. As is usual among Ducks, the female alone brings up the numerous family. This Duck is widely distributed over many parts of Europe, Northern Asia, and North America, the birds of the latter continent being regarded by some ornithologists as a distinct species.