COMMON SHELDRAKE 219 



to be inhabited by foxes and badgers, and on close examination the fresh tracks and 

 excrements of these different animals were found in the holes themselves. Nau- 

 mann himself, and most of the later German writers, were fully convinced by this 

 sort of testimony, and the case has been likened to that of the prairie-dog, snake, 

 and owl colonies of western North America. To account for this phenomenon, 

 various explanations have been offered. It has been said that the flesh and even the 

 eggs of the Sheldrake have an odor or taste repulsive to the fox, and a recent author 

 (Floericke, 1898) makes the suggestion that the plumage, and especially the eyes 

 of the bird have a phosphorescent gleam in the dark, which repels other animals. 

 But even the German writers are frank in admitting that no explanation will really 

 fit the case. British writers have generally ignored, or received with great skepticism, 

 all stories about Sheldrakes making their homes with foxes or badgers, but they are 

 quite ready to admit the extremely dominant nature of the bird and the possibility 

 that continental foxes may not have the same tastes as the English ones! In the 

 literature may be found stories of a fox-terrier being seized by the ear, and a man by 

 the trousers (Percival, Avic. Mag., ser. 1, vol. 8, p. 255, 1902), of a rabbit being 

 dragged away by the ear (Payne-Gallwey, 1882), and of dogs chased and put to 

 flight. Dogs seem to have a fascination for them, for male birds, ignoring the man, 

 will often fly after his dog during the breeding season (W. Thompson, 1851). They 

 are known also to have completely mastered birds much larger than themselves, 

 even swans, and they have chased Black-headed Gulls who have carried off one of 

 their young (London Field, Dec. 3, 1921). 



The pairs fly about examining nest-holes in the early morning, the male usually 

 remaining outside, while the female enters and explores the various burrows. The 

 male also takes part in the nest hunting, though he has not been noticed assisting 

 in the actual formation of the nest (Yarrell, 1856; Naumann, 1896-1905). Some of 

 the early eggs are dropped on the marsh, or among the sand-hills, and Yarrell (1856) 

 found that these were not always sterile. The birds are very fond of their nesting 

 places, and will return year after year to the same burrows. This fact, and their 

 habit of breeding in colonies, have been taken advantage of by the inhabitants of 

 several of the Friesian Islands, notably by the dwellers on Sylt, off the west coast 

 of Schleswig. Here for over two hundred years artificial burrows have been pro- 

 vided for the birds, and they have been scrupulously protected while their eggs and 

 down have been systematically gathered. The inhabitants dig holes near their 

 houses, with many branches, but a common exit, and so arranged that the turf over 

 each nest may be lifted at will. From five to ten nests are excavated in each colony, 

 though as many as thirty-one have been fashioned with a common entrance. The 

 birds begin to lay from the middle to the end of May, and continue laying until the 

 end of June. Several females may lay in the same nest. Sometimes only one nest- 

 egg is left, but usually several of the first eggs are allowed to remain, and then, as the 





