pochard
POH-cherd
Definition
A type of diving duck often found in freshwater environments, known for its ability to swim underwater in search of food.
Etymology
Originating from the Middle French 'pochard', the word likely relates to 'poche' (pocket or pouch), potentially referring to the duck's puffed-out appearance or its habit of 'poking' in the mud.
In the news
The article mentions the common pochard as one of the water bird species whose population in Lake Markermeer declined by over 75% due to the lake's deteriorating, cloudy conditions.
The Netherlands dredged 30 million cubic metres of sand, clay and silt from the bottom of a shallow lake and shaped it into 5 low islands; by 2020, a gull-billed tern chick had hatched there, after only one Dutch breeding case had been recorded since 1958
Read the full article ↗ScienceBlog.com