298 NATATORES. SPATHULEA. SHOVELLER. 



favourable circumstances, as Mr YOUELL, out of between 

 twenty and thirty eggs that were hatched, only succeeded in 

 rearing two birds, both of which even died before they were 

 twelve months old. He contradicts the assertion repeated by 

 most of our compilers, that the bill of the young, when first 

 hatched, is as broad as the body^ and quite out of proportion 

 to the size of the bird ; stating, that at a few days old, the 

 bill is not larger than that of a common duckling, though 

 in three or four weeks it acquires its peculiar form and rela- 

 tive proportion. This species inhabits the marshes, lakes, 

 and rivers of the interior of the country ; is seldom found 

 on the sea-coast, and then only where the beach is of an oozy 

 Food, nature. Its principal food consists of small worms, and the 

 larvae of insects, which it sifts from the mud, by its singular 

 spoon-shaped bill, each mandible of which is bordered with 

 very delicate and close- set lamellae, which WILSON (with his 

 usual aptness of illustration) has compared to a weaveVs 

 reed. These fit beautifully into each other, forming a kind 

 of sieve, by which the bird is capable of separating what is 

 fit for food, and rejecting through their interstices the mud 

 Nest, &c. and other superfluous matter. It breeds in the central parts 

 of marshes, forming its nest in the tufts of coarse herbage 

 common to such situations, and laying from ten to twelve 

 eggs of an oil-green colour. The lower larynx, or bone of 

 divarication, of the male bird, is slightly enlarged, and fur- 

 nished on the left side with a small thin and bony bladder, 

 rather irregular in shape, and not above one-third larger 

 than that of the Teal. The trachea is nearly of equal dia_ 

 meter throughout its length. The intestines are long, mea- 

 suring from nine to ten feet. The flesh of the Shoveller is 

 very delicate and well-flavoured, and, in consequence, highly 

 esteemed for the table. With respect to its geographical 

 distribution, this species is widely disseminated on the conti- 

 nental parts of Europe, being abundant in France, Holland, 

 Germany, and other states. It is also found throughout a 

 great part of Asia ; and in America, where it appears in no 



