Photo of the Day #23: Pochard

Pochard
Aythya ferina (Linnaeus, 1758)
Anatidae; Anseriformes; Aves; Chordata
Enfield Town, North London
November 2008

Top photo: male
Bottom photo: female

The pochard, sometimes known as the common pochard to distinguish it from other similar species, is a species of diving duck from Eurasia. I look forward to winter where I live because the resident population of waterfowl in my local river is boosted by wintering tufted ducks (Aythya fuligula) and pochards. The male is very pretty with his russet red head, scarlet eye and pale grey and black body plumage; the female is a more muted version of her mate without the red eye. Relatives of the pochard found across the world include birds known as redheads, canvasbacks, hardheads, scaups and the ferruginous duck. There is another genus of pochards, Netta, but they are not very closely related to the Aythya ducks.