Pochards

a tribe of ducks of the subfamily Anatinae. The hind toe has a broad, leathery lobe. There are two genera with 15 species, which are distributed mainly in temperate latitudes.

Six species inhabit the USSR. The red-crested pochard (Netta rufina) has a body length of about 60 cm and weighs about 1 kg. The drake’s bill is bright red. Red-crested pochards are distributed in the steppe zone and as far east as Altai. The common pochard (Aythya ferina) has a body length of about 50 cm and weighs from 0.7 to 1.1 kg. The drake’s head and neck are rust-red, and the back is bluish gray. The common pochard lives in the central zone and as far east as Lake Baikal. The tufted duck (A. fuligula) has a tuft of feathers on its head. It is widely distributed, except in the tundra and the southern USSR. The scaup (A. marila) inhabits the tundra and the northern forest zone. It has a black head, and the back is light with a dark, transverse, wavy stripe.

Pochards live on large, deep lakes and build their nests in thickets of reed and sedge. The clutch contains seven to 12 eggs.

Pochards feed on aquatic plants and invertebrates and are game birds.