COMMON SHELD-DUCK 87 
commence to pair in April, or sometimes earlier. Speci- 
mens which have been obtained inland have generally flown 
from ornamental waters, which abound with this elegant 
and easily domesticated Duck. 
This Duck receives its name from the word ‘sheld,’ 
signifying parti-coloured or pied. It is popularly supposed 
to derive its name from the following characteristics :—(a) It 
feeds on shell-fish, (0) the knob at the base of the beak 
turns pink in the breeding-time and resembles a shell, (c) 
the bird has a chestnut cravat or ‘shield’ (hence ‘ sheld’) 
around its neck and breast. 
Food.—The food consists of small crabs, various marine 
moOlluses, and worms; in addition to which, I have found 
seaweeds in the stomach. I have fed tame Sheld-Ducks on 
bread, biscuits, grain, small frogs and minnows. 
The flesh as an article of food is worthless. It is dark 
in colour, and has a rank, disagreeable, fishy flavour. I 
have tasted both adult and immature birds, cooked and 
seasoned in all kinds of ways, but never found them 
eatable. 
Voice——The voice in the male is rather whistling in 
character, being pitched much higher than that of the 
female. The latter sex, much more noisy, utters a kind of 
bark or cackle. 
Flight.—The flight is steady and well sustained, and 
the stroke of the pinion is slower than that of other Ducks, 
in this respect more closely resembling the flight of the 
Goose. 
Nest.—For their nesting-sites the greater number of 
Sheld-Duck select rabbit-holes excavated in sand-dunes 
on the coast; some, however, scrape burrows, circular in 
outline, for themselves. The nest is often twelve feet from 
the entrance. A few birds resort to the vicinity of fresh- 
water lakes ; Mr. Ussher records an instance in which this 
species bred on Lough Neagh. The Puffin, though the 
most usual, is not the only assailant which at times evicts 
the rightful owner from its home, as 1s seen from the follow- 
ing lines, quoted from ‘ ‘The Fowler in Ireland,’ p. 64, by 
Sir kh. Payne-Gallwey: “I once saw an amusing tugging 
match between a female Shelduck and a young rabbit that 
had invaded the hole which she had selected for her eggs, 
the intruder at last being hauled out by the ear and sent 
adrift.” The Sheld- Duck takes the utmost care not to 
betray its presence when near its burrow, round which 
