THE GUN AT HOME AND ABROAD 
tail, primary quills and their coverts black; wing-coverts white; secon- 
dary quills bronze-green on the outer web, forming a speculum ; long 
inner secondaries pale fulvous shading into foxy -red on the outer web. 
Axillaries and under wing -coverts pure white. Iris hazel ; bill, legs and 
feet blackish. Total length 24 inches; bill 1*8 inch; wing 14*0 inches; 
tail 4*8 inches; tarsus 2*5 inches. 
Adult female. — Similar to the male, but the head is generally rather 
whiter, and the narrow black collar round the neck is wanting at all 
seasons. Total length 23 inches; bill 1*6 inch; wing 13*2 inches; 
tail 4*8 inches; tarsus 2*4 inches. 
General distribution. — The distribution of this species in Europe is more 
southern than that of the common sheld-duck, but in Asia it extends 
to about 55° N. latitude. It breeds in small numbers in Southern Spain, 
but is otherwise rare in South Europe, west of the Adriatic. In South- 
eastern Europe it becomes more plentiful, in Macedonia, the Danube and 
Black Sea districts and South Russia. In Asia it breeds in Persia and 
Turkestan ; also in the elevated central parts of Tibet and Mongolia up 
to an altitude of 16,000 feet, ranging as far north as Lake Baikal and the 
Amur Valley, and through China to Japan. In winter it visits India in large 
numbers, and is commonly known as the “ Brahminy ” duck ; also South 
China and Formosa. It is resident in North Africa from Morocco to Egypt. 
Distribution in the British Isles. — ^To Western Europe it is merely an 
occasional wanderer, sometimes visiting the British Isles. The most 
notable occasion was between June and September, 1892, during the 
great drought in Southern Europe, when many, including flocks of from 
ten to twenty individuals, were observed on the coasts of Great Britain 
and in Ireland. During that great emigration some found their way to 
Iceland and even to Greenland, and stragglers were recorded in North 
Europe from Norway, Sweden, etc. 
Nest and eggs. — ^The nest, though sometimes placed in a burrow in the 
ground, is found in very varied situations, such as clefts in rocks, hollow 
trees, among growing corn, etc. Like that of the common species, it is 
thickly lined with down. The eggs are laid about the end of April or early 
in May, and the number in a clutch varies from nine to sixteen. They are 
indistinguishable from those of the common sheld-duck. Incubation lasts 
about thirty days. The ruddy sheld-duck is more partial to fresh water than 
T. tadorna^ and like the grey geese feeds largely on young corn, grass, etc., 
as well as crustaceans and molluscs. 
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