THE COMMON SHELD-DUCK. 



Tadorna cornuta (S. G. Gmelin). 

 Plate 46. 



The Common Sheld-Duck, known also by various local names, such as 

 "Burrow-Duck," "Bar-Gander," "Sand-Goose," and others, is a resident species 

 in the British Islands, and plentiful on many parts of our coasts, especially where 

 there are long stretches of sandy shore and bent-covered dunes, being seldom 

 found far from salt or brackish water. It has a wide range over Europe, from 

 northern Scandinavia to the Mediterranean countries, and it also visits North 

 Africa in winter. In Asia it inhabits localities which suit it as far east as Japan, 

 and north to the southern parts of Siberia, while in the cold season its range 

 extends to north India and China. 



The seven to twelve creamy-white eggs are usually laid, either within a rabbit 

 burrow or in a cavity at the end of a tunnel excavated by the bird, a warm 

 nest of dry bents and moss thickly lined with down being prepared for them. 



The food consists mainly of sea-worms, molluscs and various small marine 

 creatures, as well as sea-weeds, sought for by the bird on the flats at low-water. 



Seebohm states that the call-note of both sexes is a " harsh quack," and that 

 during the breeding season the male utters "a clear rapidly repeated whistle or 

 trill." At all times the Sheld-Duck is a conspicuous and handsome bird, and 

 readily recognised even at a distance by its strongly contrasted plumage. It is 

 easily tamed, and is a favourite on ornamental waters. St. John, in his Wild 

 Sports and Natural History of the Highlands, has given some interesting notes 

 on their habits, telling us how, at low-tide, they obtain the sea-worms which form 

 a good portion of their food. Locating their prey by the worm-casts, they pat 

 the ground with their feet, thus causing the creatures to come to the surface. 

 He also noticed how the sitting female always leaves her nest at low-tide, so as 

 more easily to obtain her food. In colour, she is rather duller than the male, 

 and has only a trace of the knob at the base of the bill. 



