306 WATERFOWL 



very uncertain. Sometimes a whole winter passes with- 

 out its welcome presence; but this season five or six 

 have been there since early in November, including two 

 full-plumaged drakes, and upwards of thirty are reported 

 from a neighbouring sheet of water. If this be a token of 

 permanent increase in this most desirable species, it may 

 not be extravagant to attribute it to the agency of the 

 Wild Birds Protection Acts. The late Lord Lilford 

 observed some years ago that its numbers as a British- 

 breeding bird were gradually increasing 'in the few 

 remaining districts suitable to its habits ' ; and it seems 

 as if a salutary check had been effected upon the industry 

 of collectors, who demand, and, sad to say, obtain, a high 

 price for British-laid eggs of the shoveller-duck. More 

 than sixty years ago Yarrell wrote about one of the 

 collecting fraternity at Yarmouth, who had made prize of 

 thirty eggs of shovellers in a single season. 



This morning, after a night of sudden and intense frost, 

 I spent some time by the lakeside, verifying former ob- 

 servations about the relative shyness of waterfowl on a 

 sheet of water where no gun has been fired with intent 

 for more than sixty years. Leaving coots and waterhens 

 out of account, the common mallards are the most con- 

 fident of all, though when once on the wing they will 

 never knowingly come within gunshot of boat or body. 

 Next in boldness are tufted ducks, and then pochards; 

 but golden-eyes, scaup, widgeon, teal, and shovellers never 

 lose their intense suspicion of man and all his works, and 

 never can be induced to share the repast spread daily for 

 the swans. This is somewhat strange. The teal may be 

 given up as incurably nervous; the widgeon as restless 

 passengers, much persecuted at sea ; but scaups, golden- 



