128 THE RUDDY SHELLDRAKE OR BRAHMINY DUCK, 
wide a birth that they interfere very little with fowling. Geese 
wont get up in our rivers when they are comfortable, while there 
is nothing in sight within a quarter of a mile, let the Brahminies 
preach never so wisely and long before you are within range 
the Shelldrake’s vaticinations have all been forgotten, and the, 
whole flock is asleep again. 
Although it starts with much noise, as if it had great diffi- 
culty in rising, its flight, when once on the wing, is easy and 
rapid, far moreso than it at first appears, which leads to its being 
continually missed, or hit behind, when crossing at long ranges. 
It swims perfectly ; few birds look better on the water, and 
when wounded dives and turns under water (though it cannot 
keep under /ong) with great ease; but it is essentially a shore 
rather than a wafer bird, and spends the great majority of its 
time on land at and near the water’s edge. 
It walks well, quite as well as the Barred-headed Goose, but 
like this, when undisturbed, is very slow and deliberate in its 
movements. In walking it holds itself more erect than most of 
the Ducks. 
Although I have on rare occasions noticed them far inland 
grazing with Geese, and more often paddling about in flooded 
fields, still it is not, according to my experience, their adzt to 
wander far from the water’s edge in search of food ; certainly 
they do not with us vegularly visit distant fields as Geese and 
many Ducks do. Often encamped on the banks of rivers, I have 
had a pair continuously within sight or hearing for several days. 
No doubt they will graze on young grass and corn when this 
comes down to the water’s edge, and in jhils gobble up various 
kinds of water weeds and seeds, but tiny fry of fish, shrimps, and 
all kinds of small land and water shells have proved the chief 
food of most that I have examined. On the Jumna I con- 
tinually found their stomachs half full of small spiral univalve 
shells. ‘Tame ones I had were dead upon tiny frogs, and though 
they are decidedly omnivorous, and do at times eat grain and 
green shoots of all kinds, I think that, in India at any rate, the 
animal element predominates in their diet. 
It has long been charged against them that they feed on 
carrion also. With Jerdon, I confess, I have always doubted this. 
In the Ganges and Jumna, where for many years I have watched 
them, corpses, especially in a sickly season like the last, are not 
rare, but I have never once seez them in close proximity to any 
dead body. Mr. Reid however says :—“I cannot say that I have 
ever actually seen it eating carrion, though I have seen it asso- 
ciating with vultures under very suspicious circumstances.” And 
Mr. H. J. Rainey writes:—“I have heard from several sportsmen 
that itis a very foul feeder, and I myself on one occasion, in 
1868, actually saw it eating carrion.” 
We must, therefore, I suppose, admit that it does sometimes, 
on very rare occasions, thus disgrace itself; but it is certainly 
