2io8 FLAMINGOES, DUCKS, AND SCREAMERS 



haunts the shores of Sind. On the coasts of Europe these birds prefer sandy dis- 

 tricts, especially those with numerous rabbit burrows, in which they breed, and 

 hence derive their name of burrow duck. Yarrell writes that the nest is always in 

 a burrow of some sort, and frequently in one describing part of a circle, so that it 

 may be situated as much as ten or twelve feet from the entrance. It is composed 

 of bents of grass, lined with fine soft down. In the Frisian islands the natives con- 

 struct artificial burrows for these birds to nest in, and make a regular harvest of 

 the eggs; the number laid by a single bird, if some are from time to time removed, 

 reaching as many as thirty. The note of the sheldrake is a shrill whistle; its 

 food usually consists of seaweed and various small marine animals. Its conspicu- 

 ous white and dark plumage renders the sheldrake easy of detection among the 

 ducks; but, in India at least, it is extremely shy and difficult to approach. 



A very different-looking bird from the last is the ruddy sheldrake, or 



Braminy duck (T. casarca}. which, while but a rare visitor to the 

 Sheldrake 



British Islands and Northwestern Europe, generally breeds in Spain, 



the valley of the Danube, and Southern Russia in great numbers, and thence ex- 

 tends through Persia, Turkestan, and South Siberia to Amurland and Japan, while 

 in winter it visits India, Burma, and China in swarms. Although so largely migra- 

 tory in Asia and nonmigratory in Europe, the occurrence of this species during the 

 winter in North Africa indicates that some individuals make a periodical move even 

 in the western portion of its habitat. 



The greater part of the plumage of the Braminy is a full orange brown, but in 

 the summer the male has a black ring round the neck; while at all times the point 

 of the wing and wing coverts are pale buffy white, the primaries, rump, and tail 

 feathers blackish-leaden gray, and the secondaries rather lighter, with a brilliant 

 bronzy-green speculum formed by their outer webs, except at the tips. The beak 

 and legs are leaden and blackish. In size, this bird corresponds closely with the 

 ordinary sheldrake. Some of the favorite breeding places of the Braminy are the 

 great lakes of the Tibetan Highlands, such as the Pangong and Tsomorari, on the 

 former of which the writer has seen them in numbers. In such regions these 

 birds build in clefts or cavities of rocks; but in other districts the nests are more 

 commonly placed in burrows and other holes, while in Mongolia they have even 

 been known to be situated in the fireplaces of deserted villages. Visiting the 

 country during the winter in myriads, Braminys at that season are to be met with 

 on every piece of water in India; and, as Mr. Hume observes, no object is more 

 familiar in river scenery "than a pair of these ducks, standing or squatting, side 

 by side on the banks, or on some chur [island] ; no. sounds are more perpetually 

 heard as one floats lazily down with the stream, than their loud warning notes, 

 repeated more earnestly as one draws nearer and nearer, and followed by the sharp 

 patter of their wings as they rise on the approach of the boat. Very wary they 

 are, and yet not at all afraid of men, so long as they keep just out of gunshot." 

 Uneatable except when skinned, and then by no means a bonne bouche, the Braminy 

 is most cordially detested by the Indian sportsman, as its harsh cry and noisy 

 flight puts up all other water fowl in the neighborhood while still beyond shooting 

 range. 



