THE PIN-TAILS. 289 



fulvescent, with tiny streaks of dusky-brown extending down 

 the sides of the neck, but absent on the throat, which is white ; 

 remainder of under surface of body white, with a few spots of 

 dusky-brown, only distinct on the fore-neck and sides of body 

 where the feathers are centred with bars of brown ; under wing- 

 coverts ashy, with whitish margins; axillaries ashy, with 

 irregular bars of white. Total length, 18 inches; culmen, 17 ; 

 wing, 97 ; tail, 4*1 ; tarsus, 1-5. 



A speculum is present in some birds said to be females, 

 but it is much less distinct than in the males, and generally 

 consists of a gloss cf bronzy-green on the feather. 



The old male, when out of plumage after the breeding-sea- 

 son, resembles the female, but is much darker above and more 

 spotted underneath ; the bars on the back are narrower and 

 more distinctly transverse, instead of being of a horse-shoe 

 shape ; the speculum is like that of the full plumage. 



Mr. De Winton writes: "The two sexes in their summer 

 dress closely resemble each other. The breast, under-parts, 

 and tail-coverts of the male are handsomely marked with 

 crescent-shaped spots, the general colour is greyer than in the 

 female, and the back does not quite lose its distinctive colour- 

 ing. The bill is not strikingly bicoloured, so that if the two 

 birds are not swimming close together, it is not very easy to 

 distinguish them." 



Hybrids. The Pin-tail has been known to cross with the 

 Mallard, the tame Duck, the Teal, and the Shoveler. 



Range in Great Britain. Known almost entirely as a winter 

 visitor, though it probably breeds in a few isolated localities 

 in Scotland. Mr. Harvie Brown has taken eggs from the island 

 of Hysgeir, off Canna, and Mr. Howard Saunders has also 

 seen young birds on the same island. It is commoner on the 

 east of Scotland than on the west, but is much more frequent 

 on the south and east coasts of England, being sometimes 

 captured inland. Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey states that he has 

 seen female Pin-tails with young broods on Loughs Mask and 

 Corrib, and has noticed the species in summer on Lough 

 Inagh in Connemara. It has also bred many years ago near 

 Granston in Queen's County, and Lord Castletown still pos- 

 8 u 



