ANATUXE. 227 



is composed of dry grass lined with down, and the eggs, 

 from ten to twelve in number, are generally nearly pure 

 white. The old birds show great address in decoying the 

 intruder from the nest, feigning lameness, and fluttering 

 along the ground before him ; from which artifice it is called 

 by the natives of the Orkneys the Sly Goose. 



THE BUDDY SHIELDRAKE. Tadorna rutila. The habits 

 and eggs of this rare British species correspond very nearly 

 with those of the preceding. 



THE COMMON WILD DUCK. Bosckasfera. The Com- 

 mon Wild Duck, or Mallard, is supposed to have been the 

 stock from whence our domestic Ducks have been derived ; 

 they breed together, flock together, and are alike subject to 

 a double annual moulting. The Wild Duck is abundantly 

 distributed over all our islands, and although many quit our 

 shores in the spring to seek their breeding stations in more 

 northern parts, yet others remain and incubate in marshy 

 situations, placing the nest generally upon the ground, some- 

 times near the water, but on other occasions at a consider- 

 able distance from it. The nest is formed externally of dry 

 grass, and is thickly lined with soft white down. The eggs, 

 usually from ten to twelve in number, are of a greenish- 

 white colour. " Wild Ducks were formerly much more 



