The Sheldrakes moult once in autumn, the remaining species the same, but the drakes of these latter change their small feathers twice, once in early summer and once in autumn.
We will deal first with the Anatinae, containing the Sheldrakes and non-diving Ducks.
The sheldrakes glowed like molten gold when the sun found them in the grass, and we could not have killed the beautiful birds even had we needed them for food.
We often hunted for the eggs of both the sheldrakes and lapwings.
Sheldrakes and Ibises abounded at the water-holes.
Some sheldrakes and wallabies were seen, and a bustard was shot by Charley: large fish were splashing in the water.
Swarms of sheldrakes were perching in the trees, and, as we approached, they rose with a loud noise, flying up and down the lagoon, and circling in the air around us.
Here one day I saw about a dozen sheldrakes in the midst of an immense congregation of rooks, daws, and starlings feeding among some cows.
When the tide has covered their feeding-ground on the coast, the sheldrakes are accustomed to visit the low green pasture-lands, and may be seen in small flocks feeding like geese on the clover and grass.
Seen on the wing the flock presents a somewhat singular appearance, as of two distinct species associating together, as we may see when by chance gulls and rooks, or sheldrakes and black scoters, mix in one flock.
In the same park a pair of pinioned ruddy sheldrakes were kept.
The disposition of the Sheldrakes to nest in obscure situations, remote from the haunts of man, and often difficult of access, perhaps, has much to do with the ignorance that enshrouds their history.
There are no cranes or sheldrakes and, except for a few flocks of mallards which feed in the rice fields, we saw no other ducks or geese.
The male sheldrakes meanwhile are far away, fishing on their own waters.
A curious thing, in this connection, is that while a kingfisher will allow none of his kind to poach on his preserves, he lives at peace with the brood of sheldrakes that occupy the same stretch of river.
Whereupon Koskomenos swept away to his watchtower above the minnow pool, and the hawk set his wings toward the outlet, where a brood of young sheldrakes were taking their first lessons in the open water.
The same thing is noticeable among the sheldrakes also, namely, that each pair, or rather each mother and her brood, have their own piece of lake or river on which no others are allowed to fish.
Should the time be high-water, and the blue sparkling sea reaches almost up to the links, most probably a few Sheldrakes will be observed flying over the water up or down the coast.
In mid-winter large flocks of Sheldrakes frequent various parts of the North Sea, whilst Wigeon and Mallard often occur in enormous numbers.
The above list will hopefully give you a few useful examples demonstrating the appropriate usage of "sheldrakes" in a variety of sentences. We hope that you will now be able to make sentences using this word.
