Wild Ducks and Duck Decoying. 199 



of teal drove them before him to a lodge. The 

 mother teal followed after, keeping close at hand. 

 When the boy had driven them into a little shed 

 within the yard, the old bird, still following, ran 

 in after them, and in spite of there being dogs 

 and men about did net betray the least alarm. 



The sheldrake is one of the largest and hand- 

 somest of its kind, and although rare as a resident 

 bird, I have frequently found its nest in rabbit 

 burrows on the shores of Morecambe Bay. It is 

 at all times one of the most distinctive of the 

 ducks with its bright and well-defined chestnut 

 and white plumage. The head and neck are 

 black, but this glows with an iridescent green. 

 Naturalists do not consider this a true duck, but 

 from structural modifications as a connecting link 

 between the ducks and geese. It usually breeds on 

 a plateau commanding the sea, and when approach- 

 ing its nest it plumps right down to the mouth 

 of the hole. Its creamy white eggs are large 

 and round, eight to twelve being usually found in 

 the burrow. For a day or so after the young are 

 hatched they are kept underground, and imme- 

 diately upon emerging are led down to the tide. 

 I have not unfrequently taken the eggs from the 

 sand-hills and hatched them under hens a quite 

 successful experiment up to a certain point. 

 The young seem to be able to smell salt water, 

 and will cover miles of land to gain it. If, how- 

 ever, the distance prove impracticable they will 



