196 BRITISH SEABIRDS: 
This food consists chiefly of aquatic plants, grass, 
insects, worms, molluscs, and crustaceans. This 
Duck swims well and buoyantly, looking very 
graceful on the water; it rarely dives, even when 
wounded; whilst on the ground it walks with long 
neck extended and tail raised. The Pintail flies 
well and rapidly, the wings making a peculiar and 
easily recognised swishing sound. 
The Pintail migrates northwards in flocks, and 
reaches its Arctic breeding grounds as soon as the 
ice begins to break up, crowding on the little pools 
and narrow belt of open water, on the sides of the 
rivers, and filling the air like swarms of bees. A 
few pairs remain in the British Islands for the 
summer. Swampy moors, and the banks of lakes 
and ponds, are the favourite nesting-places of this 
Duck. The nest, made upon the ground amongst 
herbage, or under the shelter of a rock or bush, is 
composed of dry grass, withered leaves, sedges, and 
rushes, and lined copiously with down. The eggs 
are from six to ten in number, and are pale buffish- 
green, smooth, but lustreless. These are laid in 
May. The Pintail is by no means a noisy bird; a 
low chattering may be heard from a flock whilst 
feeding, a soft quack when the bird is alarmed; 
whilst the drake, during the season of courtship, 
utters a deep clk, preceded by a hiss, and followed 
by a low grating note. Outside our islands the 
Pintail has a very wide distribution, breeding in 
the Palzearctic and Nearctic regions, and wintering 
almost to the Equator. 
