sheldrake

American  

[shel-dreyk] / ˈʃɛlˌdreɪk /

noun

plural

sheldrakes,

plural

sheldrake

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.

---

Etymology

Origin of sheldrake

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

Example Sentences

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 Scott, Walter, Sir

Sheldrakes.—The chakwâ, male, and chakwî, female, is the ruddy goose or sheldrake, known to Europeans as the Brâhmanî duck, Anas casarca or Casarca rutila.

From Tales of the Punjab by Steel, Flora Annie

He will find there in proper season the canvas-back, mallard, teal, white-winged coot, sheldrake, etc.

From Nooks and Corners of the New England Coast by Drake, Samuel Adams

Just above, at the foot of the trout pool, a brood of sheldrake were croaking and splashing about in the shallows.

From A Little Brother to the Bear and other Animal Stories by Long, William J. (William Joseph)

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 Hudson, W. H. (William Henry)