152 BULLETIN 126, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



tail is also more pointed than in other species, even without the long 

 tail feathers of the full plumaged male. The pintail springs upward 

 from the water, much like a teal, and gets under way at once; a flock 

 of pintails flushed suddenly will often bunch together so closely as 

 to give the gunner a chance for a destructive shot. 



The pintail is a graceful swimmer, riding lightly on the surface, 

 with its tail pointing upward, its general attitude suggestive of a 

 swan and with its long neck stretched up, alert to every danger, the 

 first to give the alarm and always the first of the shy waterfowl to 

 spring into flight. The hunter must be very cautious if he would 

 stalk this wary bird. Though not a diver from choice, the pintail 

 can dive when necessity requires it. It often escapes by diving while 

 in the flightless stage of ecUpse plumage. 



Mr. Hersey's notes on this species in Alaska record the following 

 interesting observation : 



While the pintail is not a diving duck it can dive readily if wounded and in other 

 emergencies. On one occasion a female followed by two males flew past and I shot 

 the female. She dropped into a nearby pond but when I reached the shore had 

 crawled into the grass and hidden. Circling the pond, which was but 30 or 40 feet 

 in width by about the same number of yards in length, I soon reached my bird. 

 Without hesitation she dove and crossed to the other side under water. The water 

 was fairly clear and not more than 30 inches deep and the bird's movements could 

 be plainly watched. The body was held at an angle, with the neck extended btit 

 not straight and the head slightly raised. The wings were partly opened but were 

 not used and the feet struck out alternately as in running rather than with a swim- 

 ming motion. The bird reminded me of a frightened chicken crossing the road in 

 front of an automobile but the speed was much slower through the water than in the 

 case of the chicken. The bird did not run on the bottom of the pond but was per- 

 haps 6 or 7 inches from the bottom. On reaching the opposite shore she came up 

 directly into the concealment of the grass. This proceeding was repeated in exactly 

 the same manner several times before I secured the bird. 



The following incident, described by Mr. Frank T. Noble (1906) 

 will illustrate a strange habit which this and nearly all ducks have 

 of disappearing beneath the surface when wounded; he had shot two 

 pintails, one being- 

 killed outright, the other, a big drake, being hard hit and with one wing broken. 

 Before the latter could be shot over, he made a dive with considerable diflSculty 

 and disappeared from view. We waited perhaps half a minute for him to appear 

 again, but not doing so we paddled to the spot, where we found the water there- 

 abouts to be scarcely 3 feet deep, and the bottom to be thickly covered with various 

 kinds of lily pads and grasses. A few moments of careful search and the duck was 

 discovered on the bottom, grasping with its bill the tough stem of a cowslip. The 

 body of the bird floated upward posteriorly, somewhat higher than the position of 

 the head, and the long tail feathers were a foot or more nearer the surface than the 

 former. The bird's feet were outstretched, but he was motionless until molested, 

 then he kicked and fluttered vigorously, all the time retaining his hold upon the 

 bottom, and it required considerable force to break him away from his queer an- 

 chorage. 



