pocardt

An obsolete form of pochard. Bosca [It.], a bird called a pocard . poccoon, n. Same as puccoon. Florio, 1598. pochard (poʻchärd), n. [Also poker, and formerly poachard, pocard; said to be a var. of poacher. Cf. poacher, 3.] A duck, Fuligula or Æthyia ferina, belonging to the family Anatidæ and subfamily Fuligulinæ, more fully called the red- headed or red - eyed pochard, also dunbird. This duck is very common in Europe and many other parts of the Old World, and a variety or very closely related species, F. or Æ. american a, is equally so in North America, and known as the redhead. In the male the head is puffy, and with the neck is rich chestnut-red with coppery or bronzy reflections. The lower neck, fore parts of the body above and below, and rump and tail-coverts are black. The back is white, finely vermiculated with wavy or zigzag black lines. The bill is dull-blue with a black belt at the end, and the feet are grayish-blue with dusky webs. The eyes are orange. The female has the head dull-brown. The length is from 20 to 23 inches, the extent of wings about 33 inches. The pochard is a near relative of the canvasback. The name is extended to some or all of the [Obsolete or vulgar.] If God punish the world with an evil pock , they immediately paint a block and call it Job, to heal the disease. Tyndale , Ans. to Sir T. More, etc. (Parker Soc., 1850), p. 105. Glad you got through the pock so well - it takes a second time, some say. S. Judd , Margaret, ii. 5. As soon as ever the pock began to decay it took away my eyes altogether. Mayhew , London Labour and London Poor, I. 451. pock2, n. A Scotch form of poke2. pockarredt (pok'ärd), a. [