DAFILA. ]89 



7l/rt/6'.— Entire head, face, chin and throat umber brown, the feathers on 

 the crown slightly darker and with a ferruginous tinge ; back of the neck dark 

 brown, nearly black ; lower neck, breast and abdomen white; a white line 

 running up on each side of the neck to the occiput ; back, sides of the breast 

 and flanks marked with transverse undulations of black and white ; upper 

 tail coverts cinereous or pale fulvous brown ; under tail coverts deep velvet 

 black ; tail with the central feathers black, much elongated, and "-lossed 

 with greenish, the others dusky brown and margined with white ; primaries 

 dusky greyish brown, the shafts much paler ; secondaries dusky brown on 

 their inner webs, their outer webs forming the speculum, dark "-reenish 

 bronze, edged with black and tipped broadly white ; upper part of the specu- 

 lum edged with pale ferruginous; tips of the greater coverts, like the lesser 

 and median coverts, are dusky brown; scapulars black, edged with yellowish • 

 tertiaries long and pointed, deep black and edged with whitish ; bill black, 

 with a bluish tinge on the sides of the upper mandible ; legs and feet slaty or 

 blackish grey ; irides dark brown. 



Le7igth.~22 to 29 inches; wing 10-3 to 1 175 ; tail 7-5 to 8 ; bill 2 to 2-45. 

 Females, — Smaller. Leiigth. — 20 to 22'5 ; wing 9"3 to 10. 



Female. — Forehead and crown, also back of the head, nape and neck dark 

 brown, the feathers with fulvous edgings ; sides of the face, chin, throat and 

 foreneck fulvous with brown spots and streaks, which become longer and 

 darker on the lower neck ; breast and the lower parts fulvous with obscure 

 crescentic brownish markings on the breast, flanks and sides of the rump and 

 large spots on the lower abdomen ; back and scapulars dark brown, with 

 lunate or crescentic markings of white and pale buff about the middle of each 

 feather, and edged with whitish ; greater and lesser wing coverts dusky brown 

 with margins and tips of white ; primaries a shade lighter ; speculum brown- 

 ish bronze, unglossed, the tips of the feathers white ; tertiaries dusky brown, 

 margined with white ; tail long, pointed, dark brown, with imperfect bars and 

 streaks of white or yellowish white; under tail coverts fulvous white, with 

 brown spots. 



A^«^.— Sind, Beloochistan, Persia, Afghanistan, Punjab, N,-W. and Central 

 Provinces, Oudh, Bengal, Kutch, Concan, Deccan, Guzerat, Central and 

 Southern India and Ceylon. Hume says — "There is no district in the 

 Empire, from Ceylon to Kashmir, and from Kashmir to Sadya, I\Iunipoor and 

 Moulmein, where the Pintail does not occur in greater or less abundance 

 except in south Tenasserim." 



The Pintail affects the large broads or dhunds and lakes, and is seldom 

 seen except in large parties. It is held in much esteem for the table and 

 for this purpose is netted in great numbers with the Gadwall and other water 

 birds. On the Munchur Lake the fowlers net from 1 00 to 200 daily, and a 

 sportsman in suitable localities could obtain two or three dozens at least as a 



