NATATORES. ANAT1DÆ.
T H E FER RU G IN O U S DUCK,
a n d W h i^ e- e y e d D u c k .
Anas ferruginea, 'Red Duck, ■ Pens*, 2 ^ * |.
„ _Fen'uginoii&B^iCh, S io nv O m i t h - S u p p t f
jit nyroca,, " Castaneous- S"j^ ^ ’® ewicS ) Brit-. Birds,-vaPtiii". p. 1332.
Nyroca leucopthalmos, White-eyed;P ,, Flejvl. B rit. An. p. 1‘H’F.P-fk
Fuligula nyroca, Nyroca Pochard, SiLP-ij Brit.-*Ormth. \o l. u»p._3o'SU
,, ,, „ ,, jE N r a ^ B r i t . V ir t.
" White-eyed Pluck,’ Birds of EtifopeJ pt: y.
Anas leucopthalmos- Canard a ith hlanc^Fj^KfM, Man. d’Ornith, vid._ii. |>. 876.
T h o u g h somewhat in eorou^ resembling the Pochard or
Dun-bird last described, the Ferruginous Duck is at df%f distinguished
from it by its smaller‘ sif^, itg“ dark brown back,
and by the ends of its I secondary quill-feathers iuef&g' \vhite-;-
forming a single white bar on .the wing | t Jail ages. Like' the
Pochard, the Ferruginpps Duck Fs a winter visiter5 to^this
country, and but few are annually taken. It haS'freen killed
in Cambridgeshire and in Norfolk, and the flesh is reported
-tf,:- be excellent; Mr. Bullock obtained specimens in the
London market ; and I have seen examples of all âgés that
were .procured in the London market ; these are generally received
from the eastern counties, between the Thames and
the Humber,., but two were killed near Oxford, in the winter
of 18,32, and another pair also .during the last winter, fora
no.tigg' pf which I am indebtèd to W . Borrer, Esq. Jun.
This.-species is occasionally sent to London alive from
Hollandywhere- it*is .sometimes çafught in decoys. M. Vieillot
$ays;ût is a rare.-bitd in France, and only seen in winter. It
has been iakeU;ùn Switzerland, Provenbe, and Italy ; and is
stated to go as far south us North Africa‘and Egypt. I t is
the Sarëelle d? Egypt o f Buffon> ^
ThejFerruginous Duck.is récôrdéd-to have been taken in
Persia and Mr. .^ould has'r received specimens from the
Himalaya Mountains, as. well as other parts of India.
I t appears»io-be ^.resident in thfs North of Germany from
October to March. Dr. Latham sayS;it; inhabits Russia, and
is^eqftent about Ahq Don. It was formerly said to have
been t,foun,d in- the rivers -of Sweden ; and Pennant, in his
Arctic ^oelpgy, mentions'having had a s p e c i m e n h i m
from Denmark; b,ut this-species is not included by Professor
• M s so p at the. «present time either in his Ornithology of
Swbderi, oi:»‘‘i ^ h i s Fauna of Scandinavia. I t is,; however,
■ included among,, the Birds of Iceland, by F . Faber, who
published in ^According to M. Temminck, this Duck
S&éjfepn insects, small frogs, aquatic plants, and their seeds ;
and makes ij;s ne^tnear rivers and marshes, laying nine or ten
white eggs,’ slightly , tinged with green. The egg, as figured
by Thienemann, measures two -inches and one eighth in
length, by'uhiÿnckand a half in breadth.
In the ad lilt male the bill is bluish-black ; the irides white;
the whole'S the head, the neck all round, to the upper part
' pf the breast, and the sides, rich chestnut-brown ; round the