. British birds for cages and aviaries; a hanbook relating to all British birds which may be kept in confinement .. . breed freelyin confinement. The Sheldrakes. The Common Sheldrake is strictly maritime in its habitsand is rarely seen far from the coast; its nest has beenfound in Norfolk and other parts of England, as well asin Ireland and Scotland, although rarely. The eggs areten or twelve in number, white with a very faint tingeof green; the young take to the water directly they arehatched, and may be reared in captivity if the eggs are setunder a common Duck, a hen, or even in an incubato
. British birds for cages and aviaries; a hanbook relating to all British birds which may be kept in confinement .. . breed freelyin confinement. The Sheldrakes. The Common Sheldrake is strictly maritime in its habitsand is rarely seen far from the coast; its nest has beenfound in Norfolk and other parts of England, as well asin Ireland and Scotland, although rarely. The eggs areten or twelve in number, white with a very faint tingeof green; the young take to the water directly they arehatched, and may be reared in captivity if the eggs are setunder a common Duck, a hen, or even in an natural food consists of marine vegetables, worms, 54 BRITISH BIRDS Crustacea, insects and fish, but they also eat grain andseeds when other food is not to be had. In confine-ment they will thrive on a judicious mixture of bothkinds of diet. The weight of an adult specimen is close on 3 pounds,and the length about 2 feet i inch, or 2 feet 2 beak is orange, the head and upper neck glossyblack, the lower neck white, and the breast and back ofthe neck at its lower part rufous brown; the wings are X. CommonSheldrakes. blackjwhite and green, and the rest of the body is white,except the tip of the tail, which is black. The femaleresembles her mate generally, but is smaller and hercolours are less brilliant. The Ruddy Sheldrake has the bill a dark slategrey; the head and neck are yellowish brown. A narrowblack ring surrounds the junction of the neck and body,the lesser wing-coverts are pale buff, the greater greenwith a metallic lustre; the primaries, rump and tail, areblack, and the rest of^the body ruddy brown; the legsand feet are blackish-grey. FOR CAGES AND A VIARIES. 55 It is about the same size as the last. It builds in holesin the banks of rivers, lining the cavity with its own downand feathers; the eggs are white, and from nine to elevenor twelve in number. It is only an occasional visitor tothis country. The Shoveller. A very handsome Duck. The bill is black
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectbirds, booksubjectcag
