64 The Natural History of British Ducks 
the sides near the point, but the fuli size is not gained till the bird is four 
months old. 
I have seen on occasion the male Shoveler, as also male Teal and 
Mallard, exhibit a certain amount of anxiety for their females and young, and 
I think the male Shoveler has more regard for the welfare of his family than 
any of the surface-feeders. If danger threatens he will come flying round 
uttering a curious note — something between a quack and a croak — significant 
of his solicitude for their safety. 
After the nesting season in Scotland the male Shovelers which have 
regained their powers of flight roam about singly, and leave early in September 
for winter quarters, though I have seen a young male killed as late as 
October 12. The females and young birds of the year stay a little later. 
In England and Ireland, where the late autumn is commonly milder than 
in Scotland, the Shovelers are not in such a hurry to be off to the south. 
They sometimes remain the entire winter, especially in the Emerald Isle. At 
' this season— -in the months of August and September — they seem to be a 
purely bog-loving species, and are as devoted mudlarks as the Teal. By the 
sportsman they are easily recognised by the loud rattling of wings which they 
make on rising from the marsh ; hence their nickname ' rattle- wings.' In 
another place (Loch Spynie) they are always known as * Britannias ' — owing, 
no doubt, to the beautiful colours of the male in spring. 
The Shoveler is an exceedingly active and powerful flyer. On rising he 
can, if he likes, mount in the air almost perpendicularly, after the manner of 
the Teal, when, having attained sufficient elevation, his flight resembles that of 
the Wigeon and Gadwall. Like the Teal, too, he is fond of taking sudden 
' headers ' towards the earth or water. In spring it is interesting to watch a 
couple of males chasing a duck, and to notice the activity displayed by the 
female in her strenuous efforts to avoid the pursuing swains. Shovelers are 
not nearly so easily alarmed as other ducks at the sound of a gun ; they have 
a habit in common with Teal of soon returning to the same spot from which 
they have been disturbed. 
