304 The Pintail 



yet no knowledge of man they are then quite tame, and it is great fun 

 to creep close up to them with the reflecting camera as they feed in the 

 small ponds in the marsh. Away they go with a thunder of wings when 

 one steps out from the rushes on the edge, and one may get splendid 

 "shots" just as they spring into the air. Even thus early they are well 

 practised in the long standing jump. 



Maturing so soon, they begin to migrate rather early, so that flocks 

 appear south of their breeding-range in the Northern States early in 

 September. Yet they are hardy, for some winter as far north as Long 

 Island Sound, and in various localities they linger until ice forms. They 

 winter on our southern coasts, and down through 

 Migration -Mexico to Panama. Early March sees them mov- 

 ing back through the United States again, and by 

 the last of the month some are on their more southerly breeding-grounds. 

 They breed mostly in the interior and western districts, especially in the 

 prairie region northward from Iowa and Nebraska, commonly in North 

 Dakota, and thence northward to the Arctic Coast. Cosmopolitans, they 

 are well known in Europe also. 



Though not given much to quacking, like the Mallard and the Black 

 Duck, they utter now and then a subdued quack, but more often express 

 themselves in a soft chattering or low whistle. For the most part I have 

 heard little sound from them, but they are said at times to be noisy. 



Like most ducks in fresh water, the Pintail devours many kinds of 



insects and small aquatic creatures, snapping eagerly at flies and 



mosquitos on the wing. It is fond of succulent water-plants, such as 



wild celery, eating both roots and seeds ; and even of nuts, where these 



grow not far from the water. Ponds are preferred to 



Food streams, and in winter grain-fields, meadows, and even 



the prairies, have varied attractions as feeding-places. 



In the West, where there are prairies and marshes, this is one of the 

 most abundant ducks, but in the East it is rather scarce. There, fearful 

 of ever-present persecution, the few that dg come to us slip so furtively 

 at night into ponds and meadows that few besides the keenest of gunners 

 detect their presence. How different seems the harried fowl in the 

 hunting-season from the beautiful "greyhound of the air" on its breeding- 

 grounds ! Would that the new era of Federal protection might make 

 more abundant everywhere this beautiful, graceful wildfowl. 



Classification and Distribution 



The Pintailed Duck belongs to the Order Ansercs, the Family Anatidce, Sub- 

 family Anatince, and the Genus Dafila. Its scientific name is Dafila acuta. It ranges 

 throughout the western half of North America, breeding from Nebraska and 

 northern Illinois north to Hudson Bay and Alaska, and westward to the Pacific 

 Coast. It occasionally visits the North Atlantic Coast in migrations; and winters 

 from British Columbia and the Missouri River Valley southward. 



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