52 A BOOK OF BIRDS 



that some of the Diving Ducks also show a marked preference for 

 inland waters. 



Of the Fresh-water Ducks the best-known examples are the 

 Mallard, the Teal, the Wigeon, and the Pintail (Plate VI. figs. 6, 



5, 7, 8). 



These are all species conspicuous for their beauty, though this, 

 as with the Ducks already described, is confined to the males, the 

 females being very dull-coloured birds. 



While the Mallard is met with in some numbers in America, 

 this is not the case with the Teal, Wigeon, and Pintail, which occur 

 only as stragglers. But the place of the Wigeon is taken by the 

 American Wigeon, and of the Teal by the American Green-winged 

 Teal — birds which resemble the British species fairly closely. 



The Sheldrake, or Sheld-duck (Plate V. fig. 4), is a bird which is 

 interesting in more ways than one. To begin with, its plumage is re- 

 markable for its strongly contrasted colours — pure white relieved by 

 broad bands of bright chestnut, and rich metallic blue-blacks and 

 greens ; while the beak is of a wonderful cherry-colour, the legs a 

 delicate pink. Then both sexes are coloured alike, though the female 

 is not quite so vivid in her hues. In all the other Ducks, it will 

 be remembered, the female wears a very dull dress ; and this, for a 

 time, is assumed by the males also, when they are said to go into 

 '' eclipse." This *' eclipse " plumage is worn for some six or eight 

 weeks, during which time the annual moult, or renewal of the quills, 

 is taking place. For the Ducks, at this time, shed their quills — not 

 in pairs, as most other birds do, and so preserve the power of flight, 

 but all at once. Hence they are compelled to seek safety from enemies 

 by hiding — a device which is eminently successful, because the 

 sober hues of the female dress harmonise perfectly with the birds* 

 surroundings. 



The Sheldrakes have no *' eclipse " dress, the female at the time 

 being engaged in sitting on her eggs, concealed in a burrow carved 

 out of some sand-bank, while her mate seeks safety at sea, or crouches 

 among the vegetation near his mate. 



But the Sheldrakes are further remarkable in that they serve 

 as a connecting-link between the Ducks and the Geese. 



The Common Sheldrake, or " Burrow-duck," is a well-known 



