ORNAMENTAL WATERFOWL. 125 
darker ; under parts whitish ; bill and legs dark brown ; slightly 
smaller than male. 
Egg.—Creamy-white; five to ten in number. May. 
Incubation, four weeks. 
GENUS ZADORNA. 
The birds of this genus somewhat resemble geese in 
build ; the body is large, the neck long and slender, and the 
oblong head rounded above. The bill has an elevated tubercle, 
much developed in the male bird during the breeding season. 
The plumage is bright in colouring, the two sexes generally 
resembling each other, the male moulting only once a year. 
Their food is both of an animal and vegetable character. The 
feet are armed with thick claws, the hind toes not webbed ; the 
tail short. ‘The Sheldrakes are remarkable for the formation 
of the windpipe, which in the male has a curious enlargement, 
lending to the voice a trumpet-like sound characteristic of the 
genus. The nests of these birds are placed on the ground, 
among rushes or coarse grass, the eggs being round, and usually 
of a yellowish-white, or cream colour. Incubation varies from 
twenty-three to twenty-eight days. We are acquainted with two 
species of the Genus, one of which, Zadorna rajah (Rajah 
Sheldrake), has not formed part of the Zoological Society’s 
Collection. 
COMMON SHELDRAKE. 
(Tadorna vulpanser. Tadorna cornuta). 
This species is one of the most beautiful, although most 
common, of its tribe, having a large distribution throughout the 
continents of Europe and Asia, and were it more easy to 
domesticate, would doubtless be oftener seen both on orna- 
