140 
British Birds. 
The Shoveller. 
THE MALLARD. 
(Anas boscas.) 
head, a chestnut breast, and"^ 
bluish grey wing-coverts, and 
green wing - speculum. The 
female is very different from 
the male, and is a browner bird. 
The Shoveller breeds sparingly 
in England and Scotland, and 
in several of the Irish counties, 
and is also found nesting through- 
out the temperate regions of Eu- 
rope, Asia and North America. 
It is a fresh-water species, but 
in winter is found in maritime 
harbours and marshes. The nest 
is made of grass and lined with 
down, and is placed in a tussock of grass or heath. The eggs are five or six 
in number, and are pale-huffish or greenish-white ; they measure about two or 
two-and-a-quarter inches in leqgth. 
This well-known bird, also generally known as the Wild 
Duck, is a fresh-water species, and is the most plentiful of all 
the British Ducks, breeding in every part of Great Britain. 
It nests throughout the temperate regions of Europe and Asia, as well as in North 
America, and it comes south in winter in large numbers. The nesting-place is 
variously chosen. Sometimes 
many pairs will form their nests 
on the ground in the high grass 
near a lake, while not unfre- 
quently the nest will be found 
far away from water in the 
hole of a tree, or under the 
roots of some old oak or even 
in a hollow where the branches 
join the stem. The nest is 
made of grass or rushes, some- 
times of straw, and is plen- 
tifully lined with the bird’s own 
down. The eggs are from ten 
to twelve in number, greenish 
or greenish-white in colour; 
their length is a little over two 
The Mallard. inches. 
