On Sea and Shore. 



215 



party-coloured wings and seeks a more secluded 

 resting - place. Should the time be high - water, 

 and the blue sparkling sea reaches almost up to 

 the links, most probably a few Sheldrakes will be 

 observed flying over the water up or down the coast. 

 The flight is very characteristic, unlike that of the 

 true Ducks, more like that of a Goose or a Swan, 



Sheldrakes. 



the wings moved up and down with slow measured 

 strokes, so very different from the rapid beats of 

 the bird's Anatine relations. In this species the 

 sexes are very similar in colour; indeed the chief 

 external difference is the absence of the frontal shield 

 from the female. Following the almost universal law, 

 this conspicuous hen bird takes good care to conceal 

 herself from enemies during the critical period of in- 

 cubation, and lays her eggs at the end of a long and 

 often winding burrow in the sand. In this particular 

 district a rabbit hole is almost invariably selected, 

 and some of the chosen burrows are so intricate 



