. The birds of Norfolk : with remarks on their habits, migration, and local distribution . , gives a diagram of the ground planof one of these artificial breeding places,showing the communication betweentwelve nest-chambers, all accessible byone common entrance. In his time (1819)sheld drakes were to be seen zu Tau-senden (by thousands) around Sylt. ToMr. Alfred Newton, who, since the pub-lication of Mr. Durnfords paper has met with a copy of this scarcepublication of the great German naturalist, I am not only indebtedfor a sight of the work itself but for the opportunity of reproducingthe dia
. The birds of Norfolk : with remarks on their habits, migration, and local distribution . , gives a diagram of the ground planof one of these artificial breeding places,showing the communication betweentwelve nest-chambers, all accessible byone common entrance. In his time (1819)sheld drakes were to be seen zu Tau-senden (by thousands) around Sylt. ToMr. Alfred Newton, who, since the pub-lication of Mr. Durnfords paper has met with a copy of this scarcepublication of the great German naturalist, I am not only indebtedfor a sight of the work itself but for the opportunity of reproducingthe diagram above mentioned, in the accompanying wood-cut. » vSt. John (Natural History and Sport in Moray, p. 73),describes the food of this species as consisting almost wholly ofemail shell-fish, and more especially of cockles, which it swallowswhole. It extracts these latter from the sand by paddling or stamp-ing with both its feet. This brings the cockle quickly to thesurface. He also states that he has seen tame birds of this speciesdo the same, when impatiently waiting for their 130 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. at Sandringham (now the residence of tlie Prince ofWales), I may quote from Mr. Knoxs Game birds andWild Fowl tlie following statement as to the extra-ordinary docility exhibited by nestling sheld drakes,even m a state of natnre. A friend of mme told methat when at Sandringham, in Norfolk, he saw an entirefamily of young sheld drakes emerge from a rabbitshole in which they had been bred, when summoned bythe whistle of the gamekeeper, partake greedily of thefood that was thrown to them, and return into the sameretreat when the repast was finished. Mr. J. also informs me that he remembers in formeryears being told by residents in that part of the countythat the sheld duck nested on Dersingham heath. Of our home bred birds, as those reared on thecoast sand-hills of this county may be termed, to dis-tinguish them from migratory visitants, some fall victimsto the gunner
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1860, booksubjectbirdsenglandnorfolk
