192 BRITISH SEA BIRDS. 



comparatively small area of coast, each seems to 

 keep closely to its own particular domain. The 

 nest is made at the end of a burrow, a rabbit hole 

 being frequently selected ; but sometimes the bird 

 is said to excavate one for itself, in which case it 

 follows a nearly circular direction. Sometimes the 

 nest is ten or fifteen feet from the entrance, and in 

 places where rabbits are numerous, it is often an 

 almost hopeless task to discover it, one burrow 

 running into another in bewildering perplexity. At 

 the end of the burrow a rude nest of dry grass is 

 formed a rabbit's nest is not unfrequently utilised 

 which, as incubation advances, is thickly lined 

 with down from the parent's body. Few nests are 

 more difficult to find ; sometimes the parents will 

 betray its whereabouts when one bird relieves the 

 other ; but, as a rule, the male is seldom seen near it, 

 and both sexes are remarkably cautious in leaving 

 or visiting it. The eggs are usually from six to 

 twelve, but as many as sixteen have been known. 

 They are creamy-white in colour, smooth and 

 polished in texture. The down in the nest of the 

 Sheldrake is a beautiful lavender-gray. The young 

 are soon taken to the beach after they are hatched, 

 where the little creatures are remarkably active in 

 catching sand-hoppers. 



WIGEON. 



Of all the more typical birds in this sub-family, 

 the present species, the Anas pene lope of naturalists, 

 is by far the best known along the coast. The 



