TADORNA.
Bill concave, nail narrow, sharply bent clown and recurved over tip of mandible ; old in breeding season with knob at base of bill ; horn knob at bend of wing ; breed in burrows.
Tadorna tadorna (L.). SHELDRAKE. Fr. Canard tadorne ; Ger. Brandente ; Volpoca ; .Swell. Grafand.
6 Head, neck, and speculum green ; chest, wing coverts, back, and underparts white ; scapulars black, fore part of body chestnut ; red knob on bill. 9 lacks knob on bill and generally duller plumaged. Bill red in spring, paler later, nail dusky. Legs and feet flesh colour. \Ving g 300-350, 9 28o-295. Tarsus
d 9 46-53. Bill 6 49-50, 9 42-44. Young : above smoky brown ; face, neck, and rump white ; underparts white ; chestnut begins to appear in October.
Breeels.—British Isles ; N. Europe from 69° in Norway and Russian Lapland to France, Germany, Hungary, Rumania, Bulgaria, and S. Russia ; and east to Central Asia ; also occasionally Spain and Algeria. Migrates, but resident in British Isles ; occurs in winter south to Mediterranean and N. Africa, N. India, China, and Japan.