THE GAME-DUCKS 315 



Next in importance comes the pintail. Up to the date 

 of my first edition, I had never, during" twenty years' coast- 

 gunning, seen or heard of this species on the north-east 

 coast ; yet, during' the succeeding- autumn (in October, 

 1889), pintails made their first appearance here, and 

 have since been observed and obtained almost every 

 year at that season. So regular, indeed, has been their 

 appearance that pintails are now known to the fisherman- 

 fowlers of this coast as "long-necks." All, however, are 

 birds of the year, and never an adult among them ; 

 though these latter, on rare occasion, pass northwards 

 along- this coast during" March. During" their short 

 stay here, on autumnal passage, the observed habits 

 of pintails are similar to those of mallards at that 

 season. 



The next three species of game-ducks I must dismiss 

 in a very few words. The gad wall, g"arg"aney, and 

 shoveler never frequent the north-east coast in winter. 

 Casual stragglers may occur at intervals on migration ; 

 but as habitual, or even fairly regular, visitants, they are 

 unknown. Shovelers come every year to breed in certain 

 localities ; they arrive at the end of March, go straight to 

 the pool or pond where they intend to breed, pair in April, 

 nest in May, and as soon as their young can fly, at once 

 depart for Southern Europe and Africa. Shovelers, it 

 may be added, are quite uneatable. Of the rest I have 

 never myself met with a single example, and, with the 

 exceptions above defined, they may be regarded (on 

 the north-east coast) as non-existent. From personal 

 acquaintance with these ducks in other countries, they 

 are all, I observe, strongly addicted to fresh water, both 

 by day and night. We have pintail and shoveler in 

 thousands on our Spanish marshes all winter, and 



