COMMON SHELD-DUCK 87 



commence to pair in April, or sometimes earlier. Speci- 

 mens which have been obtained inland have generally flown 

 from ornamental waters, which abound with this elegant 

 and easily domesticated Duck. 



This Duck receives its name from the word ' sheld,' 

 signifying parti-coloured or pied. It is popularly supposed 

 to derive its name from the following characteristics: (a) It 

 feeds on shell-fish, (b) the knob at the base of the beak 

 turns pink in the breeding-time and resembles a shell, (c) 

 the bird has a chestnut cravat or 'shield' (hence 'sheld') 

 around its neck and breast. 



Food. The food consists of small crabs, various marine 

 molluscs, and worms ; in addition to which, I have found 

 seaweeds in the stomach. I have fed tame Sheld-Ducks on 

 bread, biscuits, grain, small frogs and minnows. 



The flesh as an article of food is worthless. It is dark 

 in colour, and has a rank, disagreeable, fishy flavour. I 

 have tasted both adult and immature birds, cooked and 

 seasoned in all kinds of ways, but never found them 

 eatable. 



Voice. The voice in the male is rather whistling in 

 character, being pitched much higher than that of the 

 female. The latter sex, much more noisy, utters a kind of 

 bark or cackle. 



Flight. The flight is steady and well sustained, and 

 the stroke of the pinion is slower than that of other Ducks, 

 in this respect more closely resembling the flight of the 

 Goose. 



Nest. For their nesting-sites the greater number of 

 Sheld-Duck select rabbit-holes excavated in sand-dunes 

 on the coast ; some, however, scrape burrows, circular in 

 outline, for themselves. The nest is often twelve feet from 

 the entrance. A few birds resort to the vicinity of fresh- 

 water lakes ; Mr. Ussher records an instance in which this 

 species bred on Lough Neagh. The Puflin, though the 

 most usual, is not the only assailant which at times evicts 

 the rightful owner from its home, as is seen from the follow- 

 ing lines, quoted from ' The Fowler in Ireland,' p. 64, by 

 Sir E. Payne-Gall wey : "I once saw an amusing tugging 

 match between a female Shelduck and a young rabbit that 

 had invaded the hole which she had selected for her eggs, 

 the intruder at last being hauled out by the ear and sent 

 adrift." The Sheld-Duck takes the utmost care not to 

 betray its presence when near its burrow, round which 



