340 SPOLIA ZEYLANICA. 
Female: upper parts dark brown, with buff or reddish 
edges to each feather ; lower parts dirty white, sometimes with 
a reddish tinge ; the sides and under part of the head and neck 
whitish speckled with brown, the upper part of the head and 
neck being darker. Wings and wing bar as in males, but 
duller, while the larger secondary coverts are white or buff. 
Young birds resemble females, but have pale edges to the 
wing coverts. 
Bill almost black ; iris hazel ; legs and feet brownish-gray. 
Length 14°5 ; wing 7°25; tail 3 ; tarsus 1-2 ; bill from gape 
1:7. Females are rather smaller. 
Distribution —An irregular visitant during the cold weather, 
chiefly to the north of the Island. At this season it is found 
nearly all over India and Burma. It occurs throughout 
Europe, Asia, and Northern Africa, breeding in the north 
temperate zone and wintering in the south. 
Habits—In some years this species is fairly plentiful among 
the lagoons in the north of the Island ; at such times it spreads 
inland over the tank country as far south as Anuradhapura 
and down the east coast to the confines of the Hambantota 
District. It flies in considerable flocks, resting during most 
of the day and flighting to its feeding grounds at sunset. 
DaFiLa acuta (Blanford, Vol. IV., p. 447). 
ANAS AcuTA (Legge, p. 1076). 
The Pintail. 
Description —Male : the head and under-side of the neck 
dark brown ; hind-neck black ; on each side of the neck is a 
white stripe, which meets the white of the under parts ; the 
lower hind-neck, the back, sides, and flanks dark brown, with 
fine wavy markings of light gray. The larger scapulars are 
velvet-black edged with whitish or light brown ; upper tail 
coverts black and gray ; tail black ; wing coverts gray-brown, 
the last row bordering the wing bar being tipped with cimna- 
mon. Primary quills brown-gray ; the secondaries have the 
outer webs bronzed-green and purple and the ends black, 
tipped with white; the innermost secondary has the outer 
