DUCKS, GEESE, AND SWANS. 195 
the “Sea Pheasant” in some districts, although in 
others the name is applied to the Long-tailed Duck 
—a member of the next. sub-family. The male is 
distinguished by his brown head, shot with bronze 
tints, black nape, and white stripe on either side of 
the neck, which runs into the white underparts; by 
the green speculum emphasised above with pale 
chestnut, and below with white, and finely pencilled 
black and gray upper plumage: the long pointed 
black scapulars, broadly edged with dull white, are 
also a noteworthy feature. The female is much 
less showily coloured, mottled-brown above, and 
grayish-white below, but the brown tail feathers, 
obliquely barred with white, readily distinguish her 
from allied species. The favourite haunts of the 
Pintail, during its sojourn with us, are the shallow 
estuaries, especially on our eastern ‘and southern 
coasts. It arrives on our coasts chiefly in October 
and November, and leaves them in April. The 
Pintail is a remarkably gregarious species, congre- 
gating in large flocks during winter, and it has been 
observed that many of these gatherings are com- 
_ posed exclusively of male birds. It is a shy and 
wary bird, feeding principally at night, visiting the 
land or the shallows at dusk, and when so engaged, 
sentinels are generally on the look-out, ready to 
give the alarm. It obtains its food by dipping the 
fore half of the body under water, and exploring 
the mud with its bill; but sometimes stubbles and 
meadows near the sea are visited for the purpose. 
