386 WEB-FOOTED BIRDS. 



white. Bill dusky above, below and at the sides orange, tinged 

 slightly with brown, the laminar teeth exserted. Legs and feet 

 pale orange, the webs dusky. 



PINTAIL, OR WINTER DUCK. 



(Anas acuta, Linn. Lath. Ind. sp. 81. Wilson, viii. p. 72. pi. 68. 

 fig. 3. BoNAP. Synops. No. 325. Temm. Man. d'Orn. ii. p. 838. 

 A. caudacuta, (Ray. Leach.) Richard. North. Zool. ii. p. 441. 

 Pintail Duck, Penn. Arct. Zool. No. 500. Le Canard a longue 

 queue, Buff. PI, Enlum. 959. Phil. Museum, No. 2806.) 



Sp. Charact. — Speculum green with purple reflections, bordered 

 by rufous and white ; tail very long, cuneiform, acute, of 16 

 feathers ; bill long and linear, nearly black. — Male ash color, 

 waved, lined, and spotted with black, with a white stripe on each 

 side of the neck : two middle tail feathers very long and tapering ; 

 vent black. Female dusky, spotted with redish-white : speculum 

 and vent uniform in color with the rest of the plumage, and the 

 middle tail feathers not elongated. 



This elegant species is again an inhabitant of the 

 northern parts of both continents, leaving its remote natal 

 regions, as the winter advances, when it is seen pretty fre- 

 quent in the markets of the United States, and is a game 

 much esteemed for the excellence of its flavor. According 

 to Richardson, they frequent chiefly the clear lakes, and 

 breed in the Barren Grounds, appearing in the more south- 

 ern and wooded districts when about to migrate, at which 

 period they proceed even beyond the limits of the United 

 States, being noticed by Hernandez in Mexico. In Europe 

 they are said to retire to the marshes of the White Sea to 

 breed. They are seen in Sweden in the spring and autumn 

 for a few days as birds of passage ; in winter visit the north 

 of England and Scotland, and are seen in great flocks in the 

 Orkneys. They are also common in France, Holland and 



