206 TADORNA TADORNA 



DESCRIPTION 



Adult Male: Head and neck dark glossy green, almost black, a broad white collar encircling upper 

 breast and upper mantle. Posterior to this is a broad band of chestnut, covering rest of mantle and 

 sides of breast. Outer scapulars black, inner ones white. Back, rump and upper tail-coverts snow- 

 white, tip of tail black. Wing closely resembles that of Egyptian Goose, having the coverts white, 

 secondaries metallic green, except inner ones which are brown on the outer web, and primaries black. 

 Lower parts blackish along median line; flanks white, under tail -coverts rusty red. 



Bill sharply turned up and having a large knob at base 8 to 10 mm. long in the breeding sea- 

 son. Bill and knob bright red; nail black; irides dark reddish brown; legs and feet flesh-pink. 



Wing 325-330 mm.; bill 41-45; tarsus 47. 



Weight, 2 pounds 6 ounces to 2 pounds 14 ounces (1.1 to 1.4 kilograms) (Hume). 



Adult Females: Smaller than male, head not so green, and other colors less brilliant. Bill with- 

 out a knob or with a very small one in the spring of the year, increasing with age. 

 Weight, 2 pounds to 2 pounds 14 ounces (0.9 to 1.4 kilograms) (Hume). 



Young in First Plumage: At this stage there is no likeness to the adult plumage and the sexes are 

 the same. The head and upper side of the neck are dull black except for a large white patch between 

 the eye and the bill merging with the white of the throat; the whole lower surface is pure white. The 

 mantle is white, mixed with gray along the posterior part and also along the median line. The scapu- 

 lars are gray and dark brown in color, while the back and the rump are white. The outer wing- 

 coverts are whitish to dull gray, not pure white as in the adult. The speculum is less brilliant than in 

 the adult stage, and the chestnut patch on the tertials is poorly developed. According to Naumann 

 (1896-1905) the bill is at first reddish gray, changing gradually to red. Iris grayish brown changing 

 to dark reddish brown. Legs light lead color changing gradually to clear flesh color. Male coming into 

 adult plumage in mid-winter can be told from female by his solid black head. 



Young in Down: A small occipital patch, a narrow streak down the back of the neck, mantle, some 

 scapulars and a narrow region in mid-back rich brown. All the rest is snow-white sharply contrasted 

 with the brown of the upper side. There are large white areas on the wing rudiments, sides of back 

 and rump, more or less confluent in the last two regions, and forming a lateral-line patch. 



Remarks: Some writers, as Meves (Ofv. Kungl. Vet.-Akad. Forh., Stockholm, 1867, p. 287) and 

 later Bonhote (1909), think there is a definite eclipse plumage, and the former gives a description of it. 

 The fact is that there are two moults in the Sheldrake just as there are in other ducks, but the summer 

 plumage does not differ from that of winter and spring in a very striking way. Details of this plumage 

 are well given in the Practical Handbook of British Birds (Witherby et al., 1919-22). 



DISTRIBUTION 



Before discussing the distribution of the Sheldrake it is important to point out that this species is 

 essentially marine in its habits. In Europe especially it is almost wholly confined to the seacoasts; 

 and it is not to be supposed that, because in plotting the range on the map it is impossible to avoid in- 

 cluding large interior areas, the writer means to convey the impression that the species inhabits all 

 parts of the range in equal numbers. It is true, however, that in Asia the birds regularly breed far 

 inland, usually on saline marshes or lakes, and it may also be said that in Europe the local reports 

 from England and Germany show an ever-increasing tendency in this species to select inland haunts. 



