PINTAIL DUCK. 197 



marshy shores of some of the bays of Lake Ontario they 

 are often plenty in the months of October and November. 

 I have also met with them at Louisville, on the Ohio. 



The pintail duck is twenty-six inches in length, and 

 two feet ten inches in extent ; the bill, is a dusky lead 

 colour ; irides, dark hazel ; head and half of the neck, 

 pale brown, each side of the neck marked with a band of 

 purple violet, bordering the white ; hind part of the upper 

 naif of the neck, black, bordered on each side by a stripe 

 of white, which spreads over the lower part of the neck 

 before ; sides of the breast and upper part of the back, 

 white, thickly and elegantly marked with transverse 

 undulating lines of black, here and there tinged with pale 

 buff; throat and middle of the belly, white, tinged with 

 cream ; flanks, finely penciled with waving lines ; vent, 

 white ; under tail-coverts, black ; lesser wing-coverts, 

 brown ash ; greater, the same, tipt with orange ; below 

 which is the speculum, or beauty spot, of rich golden 

 green, bordered below with a band of black, and another 

 of white ; primaries, dusky brown ; tertials, long, black, 

 edged with white, and tinged with rust; rump and 

 tail-coverts, pale ash, centred with dark brown ; tail, 

 greatly pointed, the two middle tapering feathers being 

 full five inches longer than the others, and black, the 

 rest, brown ash, edged with white; legs, a pale lead 

 colour. 



The female has the crown of a dark brown colour; 

 neck, of a dull brownish white, thickly speckled with 

 dark brown ; breast and belly, pale brownish white, 

 interspersed with white ; back, and root of the neck 

 above, black, each feather elegantly waved with broad 

 lines of brownish white, these wavings become rufous 

 on the scapulars ; vent, white, spotted with dark brown ; 

 tail, dark brown, spotted with white ; the two middle 

 tail-feathers half an inch longer than the others. 



The sprigtail is an elegantly formed, long bodied 

 duck, the neck longer and more slender than most 

 others. 



