SHELDUCK

also called Sheldrake, any of the smaller members of the duck tribe Tadornini, family Anatidae (order Anseriformes). The larger members of the tribe are sheldgeese. Shelducks are short-billed ducks of somewhat gooselike build, with long legs and upright stance. They are found in the Old World. The common shelduck (Tadorna tadorna) of Europe and Asia is black and white with a reddish chest band; the drake has a knob on his red bill. The ruddy shelduck (Casarca ferruginea), ranging from North Africa and Spain to Mongolia, is orangish, with a pale head and white wing patches. Drakes of most shelduck species have melodious whistling calls and are aggressive the year round. In the European species the hen is solitary at the nestcommonly in a rabbit burrowand lays smooth eggs. In North America a merganser (q.v.) is sometimes called a sheldrake.