170 SHIELDRAKE. 



and breeds in a rabbit-warren on the sand-hills of the sea- 

 bank in that parish. In Cornwall, it has been met with 

 at Gwyllyn Vase and Swanpool, near Falraouth, but rarely. 

 In Oxfordshire, they occur in most years, in the neighbourhood 

 of Weston-on-the-Green, as stated by the Revs. Andrew and 

 Henry Matthews; likewise in Dorsetshire and Hampshire. In 

 Norfolk they are not uncommon, and breed among the low- 

 sand-hills on the coast. 



They occur in Ireland, and are indigenous, but rather rare; 

 also on the shores of Scotland, quite to the north. In Orkney, 

 too, they arrive early in the spring, and remain till the autumn, 

 a few only staying throughout the winter. 



Their proper home is the neighbourhood of the sea, but 

 they are occasionally, and not very unfrequently, met with 

 inland. They remain with us throughout the year, and always 

 in pairs. They move southwards in the autumn, returning 

 to the north in the spring; the former in September, and 

 the latter in March. 



A. E. Knox, Esq. mentions that a friend of his knew a brood 

 of young Shieldrakes at Sandringham, in Norfolk, come from 

 the rabbit-burrow in which they had been bred, at the whistle 

 of the gamekeeper, to receive food. If the nest be approached 

 by an unwelcome intruder, the young ones hide themselves: 

 'the tender mother drops at no great distance from her 

 helpless brood, trails herself along the ground, flaps it with 

 her wings, and appears to struggle as if she was wounded, in 

 order to attract attention, and tempt a pursuit after her. 

 Should these wily schemes, in which she is aided by her mate, 

 succeed, they both return when the danger is over, to their 

 terrified motionless little offspring, to renew the tender offices 

 of cherishing and protecting them.' When however the young 

 are older, they fly straight away from them, as if aware 

 that by diving and otherwise they could then better take care 

 of themselves, as indeed is the fact. The young broods collect 

 together, it seems, in troops of from thirty to forty, accom- 

 panied by the old birds. 



This species, though naturally extremely wild, is very 

 readily brought into a state of domestication, and will come 

 to a call. Some that have wandered away have returned 

 even after an absence of several months. The richness of 

 its well-contrasted plumage renders it a great ornament. 

 They have been known to breed in the reclaimed state, but 

 not often: one at Lord Derby's paired with a duck. 



