sheldrake

American  

[shel-dreyk] / ˈʃɛlˌdreɪk /

noun

• sheldrakes,
  plural
• sheldrake
  plural

1. any of several Old World ducks of the genus Tadorna, certain species of which have highly variegated plumage.

2. any of various other ducks, especially the goosander or merganser.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• sheldrake
  plural
• sheldrakes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of sheldrake

1275–1325; Middle English sheldedrake, equivalent to sheld particolored + drake drake ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sheldrake sheldrakes

Or that I can dive down at one side of a Highland loch and come up at the other like a sheldrake?

From Red Cap Tales Stolen from the Treasure Chest of the Wizard of the North by Sir Walter Scott

The sheldrake does not heed his mate Who calls behind the lotus-leaf; He drops the lily from his bill And turns on you a glance of grief.

From Translations of Shakuntala and Other Works by Kalidasa

The tame bird is no bigger than a domestic duck; the wild sheldrake, flying about in the strong sunshine, looks almost as large as a goose.

From Birds and Man by W. H. (William Henry) Hudson

The sheldrake ducks also have a fleshy growth on the bill.

From The Log of the Sun A Chronicle of Nature's Year by William Beebe

In the case of the sheldrake, the exaggerated size may be an effect of strong sunlight on a flying white object.

From Birds and Man by W. H. (William Henry) Hudson

Some sheldrakes and wallabies were seen, and a bustard was shot by Charley: large fish were splashing in the water.

From Journal of an Overland Expedition in Australia : from Moreton Bay to Port Essington, a distance of upwards of 3000 miles, during the years 1844-1845 by Ludwig Leichhardt

We saw a few wood-ducks, sheldrakes, and black ducks, but they were not so numerous there at that season as on our river at home.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 02, No. 10, August, 1858 by Various

Paddling along the eastern side of the lake in the still of the morning, we soon saw a few sheldrakes, which the Indian called Shecorways, and some peetweets on the rocky shore.

From Canoeing in the wilderness by Henry David Thoreau

Herds of wild ponies dot the hills, and black duck and sheldrakes are heading their young broods on the mirror-like ponds.

From Acadia or, A Month with the Blue Noses by Frederic S. Cozzens

We often hunted for the eggs of both the sheldrakes and lapwings.

From Across Mongolian Plains A Naturalist's Account of China's 'Great Northwest' by Roy Chapman Andrews