104 GAME BIRDS. WILD-FOWL AND SHORE BIRDS. 



one record in Icn years, — a bird killed at Eastham in 1900. 

 Mr. Vinal B. Edwards of Wood's Hole says that one was 

 killed in 187o and none have been seen since. Mr. Robert O. 

 ^Morris of Springfield says that in the antumn of 1892 the 

 Pintail was the most numerous Duck on the Connecticut 

 River near Springfield. Mr. Israel R. Sheldon of Pawtuxet, 



Female. 



R. I., states that it has been seen in small flocks near Narra- 

 gansett Bay, and he thinks that it is increasing. Mr. Charles 

 W. Hallett records flights of Pintails at Barnstable in 1907 and 

 1908. Mr. Benjamin F. Howell of Troy Hills, N. J., writes 

 that Pintails began breeding on the meadows in his vicinity 

 in the year 1908 after spring shooting was stopped there. 



This bird feeds mainly near the surface, as it is not an 

 expert diver. It flies very swiftly, and is capable of many 

 tricks to upset the calculations of the hunter. In case of an 

 alarm among a flock when settling to the decoys, the individ- 

 uals spring high in air so suddenly that the hunter often 

 misses his chance or shoots below them. Elliot tells of a 

 performance given by the males in spring that resembles the 

 drumming of the Snipe. 



As the lakes and rivers of the interior freeze, the Pintail 

 moves on southward. Its principal breeding grounds lie 

 between North Dakota, Alaska and the west coast of Hudson 

 Bay, but it is found in Greenland. It winters mainly in the 

 southern States, and some go to the West Indies. It appears 

 to go north mainly by the inland route. 



Audubon says that the Pintail is an expert flycatcher and 

 that it eats tadpoles, leeches, mice and insects. 



