86 ANATIDAt 
COMMON SHELD-DUCK. Yadorna cornuta (S. G. Gmelin). 
Coloured Figures.—Gould, ‘Birds of Great Britain,’ vol. v, 
pl. 11; Dresser, ‘ Birds of Europe,’ vol. vi, pl. 420; 
Lilford, ‘ Coloured Figures,’ vol. vii, pl. 32. 
The Sheld-Duck, in full nuptial plumage, is one of the 
most handsome of our common Ducks. Its favourite re- 
sorts are large tracts of mud-slob, ooze, or sand. 
During high tide, when the feeding-grounds are covered, 
small parties of this Duck ray be seen on our tidal estuaries, 
in company with Wigeon and other species, but large gather- 
ings are uncommon. 
On ahot sunny day in the month of September, I have 
watched through a telescope several Sheld-Ducks, immature 
and adult, standing on the sand, with their beaks resting 
on their backs, the birds being apparently asleep. Even 
then, they are on the alert, and can rarely be approached 
within the range of gun-shot. Once, however, | managed 
to get within twenty yards of a flock of fifteen birds. They 
were at the edge of a grass-plot on the beach of Dublin 
Bay, and were feeding on sand-hoppers, here plentiful. 
Going on ‘all fours’ through the short grass—the only 
available cover—I succeeded in stalking them and securing 
several specimens. 
The Sheld-Duck is indeed a wary bird. The cautious 
way in which a flock will quietly walk away from a gunner 
who attempts to come within two hundred yards on the 
open strand, and the slow, regular, and measured flight, are 
habits more characteristic ‘of Wild Geese than of Ducks. 
To the unaided eye, Sheld-Ducks, even at a short dis- 
tance, appear simply as black and white birds, and are often 
mistaken by the inexperienced observer for Oyster-catchers. 
It is only when seen close at hand, or through a powerful 
field-glass, that the rich chestnut marking can be discerned. 
The Sheld-Duck very seldom even attempts to dive, except 
in the case of the young, when trying to escape capture. 
I have also seen Sheld-Ducks, wounded by gunshot, making 
frantic efforts to escape by repeatedly diving, while at the 
sight of the Peregrine Falcon overhead these birds will 
submer ge themselves under water. 
This species is a tolerably plentiful British bird: I 
have seen it in Dublin Bay every month in the year. It 
seldom leaves the sea-coast. The flocks which occur in the 
autumn and winter scatter in the spring, and the birds 
