236 BRITISH BIRDS 



goose, would perhaps be a more suitable name. The common 

 sheldrake is, perhaps, the most duck-like in appearance of all the 

 birds of this genus, and the common name, sheld, which means 

 parti- coloured, really applies to this species only. As in the geese, 

 the male and female sheld- ducks are nearly alike in plumage, and 

 the male does not change colour ; and, like the gander, he assists 

 his mate in rearing the young. In the true ducks the drake changes 

 his plumage in summer, becoming like the female in colour, and in 

 most cases (for there are exceptions) he remains apart from the duck 

 from the time that incubation begins until the young are fully grown. 

 Of the seven known species of sheldrake, only one is indigenous 

 to the British Islands. A second species, the ruddy sheldrake 

 {Tadorna casarca), is a rare visitor, or straggler, to our coasts, and 

 it is probable that most of the sheldrakes of this species that are 

 shot from time to time in England are escaped birds. 



The common sheldrake is a bird that, once seen, cannot be easily 

 forgotten, its strange guinea-pig arrangement of three colours — black 

 white, and red — makmg it one of the most strikingly conspicuous 

 fowls in this country. On account of its handsome and singular 

 colouring it is much persecuted, and as a breeding species is becom- 

 ing increasingly rare with us. It inhabits sandy sea-coasts, and is 

 only seen as a rare straggler on inland waters. It feeds close to the 

 shore where the sea is shallow, and is partial to coasts where wide 

 stretches of sand, mixed with rocks, are uncovered at low water. It 

 feeds, both in the water and on the flats, on marine insects and 

 molluscs, and breeds in the sandhills along the coast. The nesting- 

 hole is in most cases a deserted rabbit-burrow, but it also burrows 

 for itself, and is known as the * burrow-duck ' on many parts of the 

 coast. The hole is six to twelve feet in length, ending in a chamber 

 lined with dry grass and moss. Seven to twelve creamy white 

 eggs are laid, sometimes a larger number. The eggs are enveloped 

 in a quantity of down, which the bird plucks from her own body. It 

 is said that the male takes no part in incubation, but remains near 

 the burrow on guard, and gives timely warning of danger, and 

 when the young are hatched and taken to the sea, assists in rearing 

 and protecting them. 



The sheldrake has a harsh cry, but in the breeding season the 

 drake utters a soft, tremulous, whistling note. 



