CHAPTER XV 



THE SHELD-DUCK 



The nest of the Sheld-duck, which is placed in a 

 hole in the sand, is constructed of dry herbage, and 

 contains from seven to ten eggs, which are white 

 tinged with red. 



The Sheld-duck itself, which is a beautiful bird, 

 belongs, one might say, to the sand-hills that line 

 so many parts of our shores. It is known under 

 several different names, such as Burrow - duck, 

 Berganser (or Barganser), Skelgoose, Sheldrake, 

 and Skeeling-goose, and these titles are sometimes 

 a little confusing. People who know the coast only 

 by visiting it at certain times when they think fowl 

 are about, have occasionally some very curious birds 

 provided for their especial benefit, for setting-up. A 

 good bird very rarely leaves the place where it was 

 procured. 



The sand-dunes are very different to what might 

 be imagined by some people who had never seen 

 them. They are vast stretches of as up-and-down 

 a formation as a man might ever wish to travel over. 



Some of them, the marsh-hills, are almost closed in 



176 



