142 BRITISH BIRDS, THEIR EGGS AND NESTS. 
well, but never showed any disposition to pair or breed. Pro- | 
bably it might be because no suitable hole for a nest was withm 
their reach. The male of this species is known to assist the | 
female in the labours and constraint of incubation. 
943. SHOVELLER—(Auas clypeata). 
Blue-winged Shoveller, Broad-bill.—The first in the list of the 
true Ducks, and a very beautifully plumaged bird indeed. But 
gaily feathered as he is, and brilliant as is a part, at least, of the 
plumage of all the male Ducks during a certain portion of the 
year, yet it is remarkable that they all undergo a change in this 
respect about the breeding time, just the reverse of that which 
takes place in the males of so many other birds at the same 
season. hey become more brilliant, or their colours deeper or 
richer then:—the male ducks duskier, plainer coloured, more like 
the female in her more unobtrusive hues. The Shoveller’s bill is 
very remarkable, and, as I said of the Oyster-catcher’s, a study 
for all who admire the works of God. It merits our notice for 
its adaptation to its purposes in a direction just opposite to that 
which characterizes the bill of the bird just named, Dilated at 
the sides so as almost to look awkward, it is furnished with a 
large series of very sensitive lamine or plates, such that the 
minute objects which form a considerable portion of the bird’s food 
may be instantly detected by the sense of touch, and retained. It 
used to breed very commonly in many parts of the kingdom, 
Norfolk and the Fen districts for instance, as wellas in Romney 
Marsh and other places more in the south of the Island. At 
present it has become comparatively rare. The nest is made of 
fine grass, and the eggs are eventually enveloped in down pro- 
cured from the bird’s own breast. The eggs may be from eight 
to twelve in number, white, tinged with a greenish-dun shade, and 
about 2 inches long by 12 broad. 
