pochard

pochard
/poh"cheuhrd, -keuhrd/, n., pl. pochards, (esp. collectively) pochard.
1. an Old World diving duck, Aythya ferina, having a chestnut-red head.
2. any of various related ducks, as the American redhead.
[1545-55; orig. uncert.]

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bird
      any of the 14 to 16 species of diving ducks (diving duck) of the tribe Aythyini (family Anatidae, order Anseriformes), often called bay ducks.

      Pochards are round-bodied, big-headed, rather silent birds of deep water; they dive well, with closed wings, to feed chiefly on aquatic plants. All lack a metallic wing mark, but most species show some white in the wings. Drakes commonly are black or gray with red heads, hens are plain brown. The nest is either a scraped hollow or a mound of reeds, and the hen lays 7–17 buff or dark greenish eggs. Along seacoasts and on the bigger lakes, where most species spend the winter, “rafts” of pochards are a familiar sight.

      The common, or European, pochard (Aythya ferina) breeds along northern reedy lakes; some winter in Egypt, India, and southern China. The drake of the red-crested pochard (Netta rufina) has a puffy yellowish red head with fuzzy erectile crown feathers, black throat and breast, and white sides. This is a more southerly species of inland waters. Mahogany-coloured relatives are the pochards of South America and Africa (N. erythrophthalma).

      The canvasback (A. valisineria) is a mallard-sized North American pochard, red-headed and black-breasted with its back and sides white, finely penciled with gray (like canvas). The redhead (A. americana) of North America resembles the common pochard of Europe but is larger and darker. Its round-headed, short-billed profile distinguishes it from the similarly coloured canvasback. Hunters call redheads “fool ducks” because they can be lured with decoys so easily. Scaups (scaup), or bluebills, are smaller than mallards. In the greater scaup (A. marila), a white stripe extends nearly to the wing tip; in the lesser scaup (A. affinis), the wing stripe is about half as long. Scaups gather in huge flocks offshore in winter and dive for shellfish (hence “scaup,” from “scallop”).

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

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  • Pochard — may refer to three species of diving ducks in the genus Aythya : * Common Pochard, Aythya ferina * Baer s Pochard, Aythya baeri * Madagascar Pochard Aythya innotata and to three species in the genus Netta : * Red crested Pochard, Netta rufina *… …   Wikipedia

  • Pochard — Le nom se rencontre à la fois dans le Finistère et la Franche Comté (25, 70). Sens incertain. L ancien français pochart désigne un étançon, mais il y a de fortes chances pour que le nom de famille n ait rien à voir avec ce mot. Peut être un… …   Noms de famille

  • pochard — [pō′chərd, pō′kərd] n. pl. pochards or pochard [< ? Fr pocher: see POACH2] any of various European diving ducks (esp. genus Aythya), as a species ( A. ferina) with a blue and black bill …   English World dictionary

  • Pochard — Po chard, n. (Zo[ o]l.) See {Poachard}. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • pochard — pochard, e n. Ivrogne …   Dictionnaire du Français argotique et populaire

  • pochard — Poachard Poach ard (p[=o]ch [ e]rd), n. [From {Poach} to stab.] [Written also {pocard}, {pochard}.] (Zo[ o]l.) (a) A common European duck ({Aythya ferina}); called also {goldhead}, {poker}, and {fresh water widgeon}, or {red headed widgeon}. (b)… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • pochard — /ˈpoʊtʃəd/ (say pohchuhd) noun any of various ducks of the genera Netta and Aythya, especially the common pochard, A. ferina, of the British Isles, Europe and northern Asia. {origin unknown} …  

  • pochard — šalminės antys statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas atitikmenys: lot. Netta angl. pochard rus. нырок, m pranc. nette, f ryšiai: platesnis terminas – nardančiosios antys siauresnis terminas – pietinė antis siauresnis terminas – rausvasnapė antis …   Paukščių pavadinimų žodynas

  • pochard — noun Etymology: origin unknown Date: 1552 any of various rather heavy bodied diving ducks (especially genus Aythya) with a large head and with feet and legs placed far back under the body …   New Collegiate Dictionary

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