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The statement of Vangerow that the common Sheldrake has been found breeding near Konigs- 

 berg, in the Neumark, cannot be depended on, as this gentleman is notoriously untrustworthy." 

 The present species is said by Collin to breed commonly in some parts of Denmark, especially 

 on the west coast of the Duchies, on Amrom and Sylt; and it is there a resident. It breeds in 

 Holland, but nowhere in great numbers, as, for instance, at Walcheren, the Hoek van Holland, 

 Wassenaar, Katwijk, Wijk op Zee, Texel, and the island of Eottum. Mr. Durnford, in his Notes 

 on North-Frisian ornithology (Ibis, 1874, p. 403), writes that it is " common everywhere, both on 

 the islands and mainland, breeding on the former in a semidomesticated state. The natives 

 make artificial burrows in the sand hillocks, and cut a hole in the turf over the passage, covering 

 it with a sod, so as to disclose the nest when eggs are required. Several females lay indiscrimi- 

 nately in the same nest. They are very tame, and suffer themselves to be taken by hand while 

 sitting. Each burrow has two openings, and is made circular in shape. There are sometimes as 

 many as a dozen or fifteen nests in one hillock within the compass of eight or nine yards. The 

 eggs are taken up to the 18th June, after which they allow the birds to incubate ; but they never 

 rob a nest of all the eggs, leaving one or two to avoid driving away the birds. Each person in 

 the village generally has a burrow ; and they are scrupulously honest in not taking each other's 

 eggs. The female always covers her eggs with down before leaving the nest." On the coasts of 

 Belgium it occurs in winter and at the seasons of passage, but is not common ; and in the interior 

 it is extremely rare. MM. Degland and Gerbe write that in some parts of France it is found 

 at all seasons of the year, whereas in others it occurs on passage. It breeds near Havre, at the 

 mouth of the Seine, on the shores of Orches, sometimes near Boulogne, and regularly in the 

 south of France, but never in any great numbers. According to M. Lacroix it is resident in 

 Aude and Herault, and of accidental occurrence, usually in the winter, in the Pyrenees orientales. 

 In Portugal it is said to be, as a rule, rather rare than otherwise ; but Professor Barboza du 

 Bocage states that it is not uncommon at Eibatejo; and in Spain it is said to occur more 

 numerously than the Euddy Sheldrake. Colonel Irby states that it is a regular maritime 

 species, and is found on the coast near the mouth of the Guadalquivir, where it doubtless 

 breeds. 



In Italy the present species is somewhat rare. Salvadori says that it is very rare in North 

 Italy, and he does not believe that it occurs in Piedmont. In Lombardy and Liguria it is rare 

 or accidental, but not so rare in Venetia. Savi says that is rare in Tuscany ; and Salvadori has 

 occasionally seen specimens in the market at Eome. Costa records it as of tolerably frequent 

 occurrence near Naples ; and the shooters assured him that it is found not unfrequently in the 

 marshes near Brindisi, in Southern Italy. In Sardinia it is not uncommon in winter; and 

 Salvadori remarks that he has frequently seen small parties of four or five individuals passing to 

 and from Lake Scaffa and the sea, and adds that he believes they occasionally remain there 

 to breed. In Malta, according to Mr. C. A. Wright, they arrive late in October or early in 

 November, and a few pass throughout the winter. In South Germany the common Sheldrake is 

 not common, and, Dr. Fritsch says (J. f. O. 1872, p. 368), is " extremely rare in Bohemia. Herr 

 Hromadko obtained a male from the Ceperka pond, near Pardubic, in April 1846 ; and Herr 

 Fierlinger received one from Hirschberg in 1858. Mr. Palliardi states that it is occasionally 

 exposed for sale in the Prague market." In Transylvania it is, Messrs. Danford and Harvie-Brown 



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