522 BRITISH BIRDS. 



morningj but not so much to feed upon grass as to searcli for worms and 

 slugs. 



So far as is known tlie Sheldrake never breeds in the open, but always 

 in a burrow, generally in that of a rabbit, but less frequently in that of a 

 fox or a badger, and there are reliable instances on record of their having 

 hatched out their young whilst the original owner of the bm*row was still 

 in occupation. Sometimes the birds excavate a burrow for themselves, 

 which is generally more or less winding, and extends from six to twelve 

 feet, ending in a chamber, in which the eggs are laid upon a handful of 

 dead grass and scraps of moss. Where it is protected, the Sheldrake is an 

 early breeder, eggs being frequently laid before the end of April ; but in 

 localities where it is disturbed, fresh ones may be found as late as the end 

 of May and the beginning of June. Seven to twelve is the ordinary 

 number, but occasionally as many as sixteen are laid ; and where the nests 

 are regularly robbed, as many as thirty have been obtained from a single 

 burrow in one season. They are creamy white in colour, somewhat smooth 

 in texture, and have very little gloss. They vary in length from 2*75 to 

 2*5 inch, and in breadth from 2'0 to 1'9 inch. Like that of most Ducks 

 which breed in holes, the down is very pale in colour, a beautiful lavender- 

 grey, mixed with a few nearly white tufts and a few feathers. The eggs 

 of the Common Sheldrake are absolutely indistinguishable from those of 

 the Ruddy Sheldrake. I have not seen the down of the latter species, and 

 am consequently unable to say if it presents any points of distinction ; but 

 the much smaller and much darker down in the nest of the Black Scoter 

 prevents any confusion with the eggs of that bird, which are otherwise 

 scarcely distinguishable, though when carefully compared they will be found 

 to be buffer in colour, smoother in texture, and lighter in weight. 



Incubation lasts from three to four weeks. It is said that the male does 

 not assist the female either in the construction of the nest or in the 

 incubation of the eggs ; but he remains in the neighbourhood to warn his 

 mate of the approach of danger, and when the young are hatched he assists 

 her in bringing up the brood, tending them almost as assiduously as she 

 does. Naumaun says that the duck carries her young ones in her beak 

 one by one to the water, where they remain until able to fly. He also 

 states that on the island of Sylt, where artificial burrows are made for the 

 reception of the nest, with loose sods over the nest-cavity, which can be 

 removed for the abstraction of the eggs, the female always carefully 

 covers her eggs before leaving them, proving that, in this case at least, the 

 eggs are covered for the sake of warmth, and not for concealment. 



The Sheldrake is decidedly larger than the Mallard and is one of the 

 handsomest of the British Ducks. The adult male has the entire head and 

 upper neck rich black, glossed with green, the feathers on the nape and 

 upper neck somewhat elongated ; a broad ring round the lower neck. 



