seen inland, unless in a semi-domestic state and pinioned; but'
some are constantly found on the sea coast, and that' during
the whole year, preferring flat shores, sandy'bars, and links,'
where i t breeds in rabbit burrows, or other holes in the Soft
soil, and hence has obtained the name of1 Burrow1 Duck, and
Bar Gander; which is probably only a corruption of! Burrow
Gander. In Scotland it is called Sk^ling, Goosey according
to Sibbald, and other writers since his time.- Many Shield-
rakes come from the riörth to visit this country for the winter,
returning again in the spring. -
The authors of "the Catalogue of the Norfolk and Suffolk
Birds mention that it breeds in 1 the rabbit burrows formed
in the sand-hiiïsriipon the coast of Norfolk. * Its'nesfc isr-dis-
covered by tfle print of-its feet on the sand, and therefore
most easily found in calm weather; for in windy weather the
driving sand soon obliterates the impression. The old bird
is sometimes taken by a snare set at the mouth of me burrow.
The eggs are often hatched under domestic hens, and the
birds thus obtained kept as an ornament on ponds.
Mr. Selby mentions that, these birds--afe # s o ^regular inhabitants
of the sandy parts of the Northumbrian! coast, and
during the breedingrseason the hales in the'earth frequented
by them are lined with bents Of grass and other dry vegetable
materials, forming a nest sometimes as far as. ten or twelve
feet from the entrance, and lining it with fine soft down,
plucked from their own breasts. They lay from $ ten to
twelve eggs, and sometimes more ; these^are rather large, of
a smooth" shining whitéf'hbout'two inches nine lines in length,
and one inch eleven lines in breadth. Incubation is said to
last thirty days, during which time the male watches near at
hand, taking his. turn upon the eggs morning and evening,
while his mate goes off to pick up her hasty meal. When
the young are hatched they' follow the parents, and in some
'situations are even carried by them in-their bills to the water,*
where they soon learn to feed and take care of themselves.
Their food1 is various, namely,, seaweed, bivalve and other,
shelled mollusea, sandhoppersy sea-worms, marine' insects, and
the remain;^off gh|||-fish. I have||b’u td the stomach of this
species, m-inute^bivalve and univalve' mollusea
only, aSv though they hadÉpè'u-ght no|;öfkei:- food; a predilec-
tio^^li'Chvmay KaV'gjigiyëE^'|i^h,*|0 the-’ name! of Shell-drake ;
and'-jthe' term SHieMrdrak'e' may-have had rits origin in. the
fr e q u e n r ip ^ d e j- , of this bird- in Heraldryt>He family of
Brassey, of Hertfordshire,* ah^Vfiéyemho^ in this
eouujtrybeariÉ^to? their, arms£this{|birdf on their- shield; and
sometimes as a^re&h-yf In* eapttyityrihey feed’on.grain;,of any
S©f t^soaked-ï,bread, ,ansdf Their Wmm is a shrill
wE^tl^t The flesh of the Shieldjake is'cea^emnd bad, dark
in jpqlour, and unpleasant both an Sinel| and- flavour: i
■ MontagmaritU ofher writers h&V£*men tio ned that this Sp®r
cip^dojës^iEqhibre^drireadily in », confinement.® The following
ha^%;may.l|^;‘®f service^; Wheifc.|jj|$ Zoological ; Society first
had a pair ofrthese birds,- they-.exhibiVe^no; signs^of -breedingf.
but their natural habit^Jbeing consulted by putting them into
another I place, where there», was a» bank*«,of earth,, into which
some^fel^* were! purposely mad% the.birds immediately took
to one^of thejholes,; .and Went tonnest-; there, bringing out a
br>oo;d5 in 4 &|l|)’, and, again in 18%%» Of what has happened
with them since I-have no notes;;« but,in the present seasoth,
1841, there-is a fine aiicL.num erous-- show of-young-birds, from
whdch’the description of the plumage of the birds of-the year in
tk-ei:^ immature dress, wilhbe-hereafter given. - As-observed by
Mr. Selby,..the* young birds soon, become tolerably tame, and
answer-to the-call of- the person who feeds them ; when fully
fledged, however, being very active, they are apt to stray
away, and if left unpinioned,' generally in time fly entirely
off, though they have been- known, in some instances, to return
after-an absence of many months.
* BTassey bears quarterly, per feks indented sable and argent, in the first
quarter, a Shieldrake. Crest on a mount, a Shiéldrake.