PINTAIL 101 
occasions in Scotland, both on the mainland and on the 
Hebrides. Thus in June, 1881, Mr. Harvie-Brown found 
it breeding on one of the Inner Hebrides (Proc. Roy. Phys. 
Soc., Edin., 1881-83). In 1882 it bred in Sutherland 
(Harvie-Brown and Buckley, ‘Fauna of Sutherland and 
Caithness,’ 1887). Again in May, 1898, several nests were 
discovered on Loch Leven, in Kinross-shire (Evans, Ann. 
Scot. Nat. Hist., 1898, p. 162). The Pintail may also have 
bred in the Outer Hebrides (Harvie-Brown, ‘ Avifauna 
Of The Outer Hebrides,’ 1888-1902; Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist., 
1902-3). 
With regard to the breeding of the Pintail in Ireland 
Mr. Ussher writes: ‘“‘ Lord Castletown has an egg measuring 
2:14 x 1°6 in., which he informs me he took when a boy 
from a Pintail’s nest near Granston, and this is the only 
instance I can cite of its breeding near Abbeyleix.” 
Geographical distribution.—Abroad, the Pintail breeds 
freely in Northern Europe (including Iceland), Asia and 
America. It also breeds in Holland, and more sparingly on 
other parts of the Continent of Central Kurope. On migra- 
tion in winter, it reaches to the south of Kurope, and to 
Africa as far as Egypt. In an eastern direction it can be 
traced to India, China and Japan, while on the American 
Continent it descends to the West Indies and Panama. 
DESCRIPTIVE CHARACTERS. 
PLUMAGE. Adult male nuptial—Head and upper neck, 
brown, reflecting shades of dark green and bronze; on the 
sides of the neck this colour is interrupted by a noticeable 
white stripe, narrow above where it begins at the back of 
the head, and broadening out below until it finally blends 
with the white of the lower neck, breast and abdomen; back 
and flanks finely chequered grey; wing-coverts, grey; alar 
speculum, lustrous bronze-green, margined below with black 
and white, and above with bright buff; primaries, greyish, 
these when the wing is folded are covered for the most 
part by the long and narrow inner secondaries, which are 
black in colour with white margins tinged with light buff ; 
central tail-feathers, long and pointed, and brownish-black ; 
rest of the tail-feathers, grey-brown, edged with white; 
under tail-coverts, black. 
Adult male, post-nuptial or eclipse.—This plumage is 
assumed in July and retained until October. It somewhat 
