go WATER FOWL OF INDIA AND ASIA. 
ously sift the water above feeding Pochards ; this I 
never saw done by a bird I long possessed, but I have 
observed the same habit in tame Teal (Nettiwm crecca) 
in England. The Shoveller is fond of dirty little village 
ponds, where it is very tame, and is said to be a very 
foul feeder ; its flesh is considered poor in India, but I 
must say the only one I ever ate was good enough, and 
in America, Audubon said that no good judge would 
pass a Shoveller to shoot a Canvas-back. The male 
Shoveller has a small bony bulb in the windpipe ; his 
note is a harsh short croak. It is interesting to note 
that when first hatched the duckling of this species has 
an ordinary-looking bill, and that the young drakes show 
the enlargement most as growth proceeds. 
The Pintail. 
Dafila acuta, BLANFORD, Faun. Brit. Ind., Birds, 
Volk (IV; p: 447. 
VERNACULAR NAMES :—Sanh, Sink-par, H. (N.- 
W. P.) ; Kokarah, Drighush, Sind; Dig-hans, 
Sho-lon-cho, Beng. ; Digunch, Nepal; Nanda, 
Nanja, Uriya; Lattunga, Manipur; Tau-bay, 
Burm. 
The Pintail, despite its strikingly aristocratic appear- 
ance, has really but the faintest claim to generic rank. 
Its only peculiarity consists in its slender build, with 
long neck, long parallel-sided bill, and long pointed tail, 
of which the centre feathers in drakes reach a great 
length. The wingsare also long, but the legs remain 
rather short. 
The male’s plumage is of a general pencilled-grey col- 
our on the upper surface and flanks, produced by fine 
black Lines on white; the head is dull dark brown with 
a lilac gloss on each side behind the eyes ; the back of 
the neck black, with a white band on each side running 
