AND NEIGHBOURHOOD. 163 



which kept swimming at low-water time in fine 

 weather within a short distance of the flat shore, and 

 were to be seen at high-water scattered about the 

 sands in groups ; on a subsequent visit to this 

 locality in the month of June, 1860, I saw perhaps 

 half a dozen old birds during a week's exploration, 

 and with considerable labour dug out eight hard-set 

 glossy white eggs from a rabbit-burrow in a large 

 sand mound thickly overgrown with marram-grass ; 

 I had watched the parent bird fly from the sea to 

 this hill, but could not from my post of observation 

 actually see into which of the many rabbit-holes she 

 disappeared, and was only guided by finding a 

 solitary wing-feather at the entrance of the burrow 

 upon which we commenced operations, as the whole 

 hill was covered with the footmarks of Sheldrakes 

 and other birds. As far as I was able to ascertain, 

 these birds, at the seasons that I have mentioned, 

 w^ere feeding principally upon sand-hoppers and lug- 

 worms, but they are very fond of molluscs of all 

 sorts ; their flesh is coarse and worthless for the 

 table. I have met with this species sparingly in the 

 Mediterranean during the winter months, it seldom 

 goes far from salt-water, and is a very wary bird. In 

 captivity its beauty is its only recommendation, as it 

 is extremely pugnacious, and from its strength and 

 activity can easily master any of the other British 

 Ducks. Mr. H. Saunders mentions Northampton- 

 shire, in his ' Manual of British Birds,' as one of the 

 English counties in which the Ruddy Sheldrake, 

 Tadorna casarca, has been shot, and is perfectly 

 correct in this statement, for an unfortunate bird of 

 this species born and reared upon one of our ponds 

 at Lilford, after having enjoyed more than four years 



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