COMMON SHELLDRAKE. 363 



A few pairs also breed on the east side of North Uist. Mr Harvie 

 Brown took a nest on an island in a lake near Lochmaddy, on 

 10th May, 1870; the burrow described nearly a circle, and the 

 eggs ten in number, which had been sat upon were found nine 

 feet from the entrance. 



Mr Graham has favoured me with the following notes on the 

 species, as observed by himself at lona: "This handsome and 

 showy bird is common at all times. Its nest is frequently found 

 on the smaller islets in rocky holes, or holes scooped in the sand, 

 and the young broods are often met swimming a little way from 

 the land, convoyed by one or two of the old birds, who show their 

 uneasiness by flying about, rising and alighting just out of shot of 

 the approaching boat. But their anxiety for their little ones is 

 groundless, as the little downy creatures are quite able to take care 

 of themselves. They disperse in all directions, and dive and double 

 under water with surprising agility and cunning, so as to make 

 catching them impossible. Being mud-feeders, we never cared to 

 shoot the Shelldrakes for the pot, for in spite of their fine feathers 

 they are but foul feeding." 



On the mainland the Shelldrake is, in manjr localities, very 

 numerous in the breeding seasons, frequenting sandy pasture lands 

 near the shore, where it generally takes possession of rabbit-holes. 

 Its principal haunts are often wet sands, on which it is not easy 

 to stalk a bird so watchful ; but during the time the females are 

 sitting, the usual shyness is not so noticeable. I have seen beautiful 

 groups of male birds on the sea off Ardlamont Point, in Argyleshire, 

 and have traced it all along the south-western shores as far as the 

 southern extremity of Wigtownshire. On the eastern coasts of 

 Scotland it is resident all the year, usually remaining on the sandy 

 shores of the larger estuaries where there is a broad expanse, on 

 which an enemy is easily detected. I have seen large flocks in 

 January and February at the mouth of the Tyne in East Lothian, 

 and Mr Harvie Brown informs me that on the banks of the Forth, 

 at Grangemouth, he has at various times seen flocks of twenty and 

 thirty Shelldrakes in the months of October and January. 



The food of the Shelldrake consists, at least in the winter 

 season, of very minute shells, bivalve and univalve, such as are 

 found in muddy estuaries. The late Mr Thompson, who took the 

 trouble to examine the stomachs of ten different birds shot in 

 Belfast Bay, found in one of them nine thousand specimens of 



