THE SHIELDRAKE. 



Anas t adorn a. 

 Tadorna vulpanser. 



GLANCE at the illustration 

 accompanying the description 

 of this bird will be sufficient 

 to show that the Shieldrake 

 is a strikingly handsome and 

 richly-plumaged water-fowl. 

 Perhaps it is not going too 

 far to say that no other mem- 

 ber of the large family to 

 which it belongs surpasses it 

 in the purity, brilliance, and 

 contrast of its feathering. 



The Shieldrake is by no 

 means an uncommon bird ; it 

 is easy to domesticate, and 

 may be seen on almost any 

 piece of ornamental water 

 where water-fowl are kept. 

 In its wild state it may be 

 found all the year round on 

 those parts of the coast which 

 furnish large flat banks, 

 reaches, and banks of sand, 

 and, indeed, anywhere where 



