476 Anatidce. 



stices the mud and other superfluous matter. Moreover, the beak 

 is peculiarly broad, .flat, and depressed, the tip more particularly 

 spoon-shaped, and terminated by a hooked nail. But it is to be 

 observed that the bill of the young bird possesses none of this 

 peculiar shape, and is no longer than that of an ordinary duck- 

 ling. From the remarkable appearance of the adult bird, in con- 

 sequence of this wide bill, which gives it rather a top-heavy look, 

 come the numerous names by which naturalists of various 

 countries have designated it : Spathulea, ' with a bill broad like a 

 spoon ' ; Platyrhyncos, in some parts of England, ' Broadbill ' ; in 

 Germany, Loffel Ente; and in Sweden, Lejfel-And, or 'Spoon Duck' 

 but it derives its specific name, clypeata, ' armed with a shield/ 

 from its white shield-like gorget. It is the most cosmopolitan of 

 birds, having been found not only in abundance in Europe, Asia, 

 Africa, and America, but even rarely in Australia ; and I believe 

 that can be said of scarcely any other bird. It is of shy, timorous 

 disposition, and the localities it loves best are the marshes and 

 muddy shallows at the mouths of rivers. Cordeaux says, ' Shovel- 

 lers have a curious habit of swimming round and round each 

 other in circles for hours together, with the neck and head 

 depressed to the surface of the water.* The Rev. A. P. Morres 

 records a pair killed in the meadows at Britlbrd, by the keeper, 

 some time back, but says they are the only instances he has heard 

 of their occurrence near Salisbury, and he believes them to be 

 quite uncommon in that district. It has, however, been met with 

 from time to time in various parts of Wiltshire, and Mr. Herbert 

 Smith has observed it on the lake at Bowood. In France it 

 is Canard Souchet ; in Italy, Anatra Mestolone, ' Ladle Duck'; 

 in Spain, Pato Cuchareta, 'Small-spoon Duck'; in Portugal, Pato 

 trombeteiro, ' Trumpeter Duck.' Though by no means a common 

 species in England, I may say it is sparingly distributed every 

 year over the country. 



'Birds of the Humber District/ p. 161. 



