290 ALLEN'S NATURALIST'S LIBRARY. 



sesses the egg, according to Mr. R. J. Ussher, who, however, 

 states that there is " no recent evidence of the Pin-tail breed- 

 ing in Ireland." 



Range outside the British Islands. The Pin-tail is a bird of very 

 wide distribution. It inhabits America, breeding in the far 

 north in Alaska and Labrador up to 72 N. lat., wintering as 

 far south as the West Indies and Panama. In the old World 

 it breeds plentifully in the Arctic Regions up to 70 N. lat., 

 and as far south as 50, but less frequently, and its breeding- 

 range extends across Northern Asia to Bering Island. In 

 winter it visits the Indian Peninsula and China, and has been 

 found as far south as Borneo, and it doubtless occurs even 

 farther to the southward. 



Habits. For grace and elegance of form in the water, the 

 Pin-tail is probably the handsomest of our British Ducks. It 

 is essentially a fresh-water species. Mr. Seebohm gives a very 

 interesting account of his experiences with the Pin-tail in the 

 Petchora, which space forbids me from quoting in full, but I 

 give the following extract from his notes on the species : " It 

 breeds in the midst of moors, lakes, rivers, and swamps, but 

 during migration and in winter it spends most of its time on 

 the sea-shore, to feed on the mud-flats at low tide. It is one 

 of the earliest Ducks to arrive in spring, and one of the latest 

 to leave in autumn. If the ground be not covered with snow, 

 it makes its appearance in North Germany about the middle 

 of March, and passes through again during the month of 

 October, remaining in November until it is frozen out. In its 

 habits it closely resembles the Mallard, feeding, like the other 

 fresh-water Ducks, partly on insects and molluscs, and partly 

 on the ends of grass and the buds of water-plants, but, like 

 the Mallard, it frequents the stubble-fields in autumn to pick 

 up the fallen grain. Its voice closely resembles that of the 

 Mallard and the Shoveler, but on the whole it is a silent bird. 

 This may be accounted for by its extreme wariness ; it takes 

 such great care to avoid danger, that its alarm-note of quack is 

 not often required. Its call-note is a low kah ; and Naumann 

 says that, in the pairing-season, the male may be seen swim- 

 ming round the female, uttering a deep cliik, which, if the 

 observer be fortunate enough to be sufficiently near to hear it, 



