PINTAIL. 537 



though not quite so much so as that of the Shoveller or Wigeon. The down 

 of the Long-tailed Duck has no white tips, and is quite as small as that of 

 the Teal, though paler and browner in colour. The down of the Pintail is 

 brown, like that of the Long-tailed Duck and Wigeon, whilst that of the 

 Mallard and Shoveller is an almost neutral dark grey. 



In its winter-quarters in India the Pintail principally frequents large 

 open sheets of water, being especially fond of those which contain masses 

 of weed, amongst which it delights to hide during the day ; it also resorts 

 to the coast, frequenting salt as well as fresh water. It is very gregarious, 

 and sometimes gathers into flocks of several thousands. Hume observed 

 that large flocks composed entirely of males were continually met with. 

 Its food consists largely of wild rice, and it is also extremely partial to 

 small fragile freshwater shells. It is regarded as one of the best Ducks 

 for the table. 



The Pintail is somewhat intermediate, both in size and colour, between 

 the Mallard and the Wigeon. The head and neck are brown, with very 

 faint green and purple reflections, shading into almost black on the nape 

 and hind neck ; the white on the lower neck extends over the whole breast, 

 and reaches up the side of the neck as far as the nape. The back is greyish 

 white, vermiculated with nearly black ; the wing-coverts are pale grey; the 

 scapulars and upper tail-coverts are glossy black, with pale margins and 

 longitudinal stripes ; the alar speculum varies from bronzy green to huffish 

 purple, according to the light in which it is held, and is emphasized by the 

 chestnut-buff tips of the greater wing-coverts, and by narrow black subter- 

 minal and white terminal bands across the secondaries. The two centre 

 tail-feathers are black, glossed with purple and green, and are narrow, 

 truncated, and lengthened two inches or more beyond the rest ; the flanks 

 and belly are white, finely vermiculated with dark grey, and the under tail- 

 coverts are nearly black. Bill dark slate-grey, black on the centre of the 

 upper mandible ; legs and feet slate-grey ; irides dark brown. The general 

 colour of the upper parts of the adult female, as in the other species in this 

 genus, is dark brown, most of the feathers being margined with nearly 

 white, except on the head and scapulars, where they are striped with buff. 

 The greater wing-coverts and the secondaries are tipped with white, forming 

 two white bars across the wing ; but the space between them is dull brown, 

 mottled with black, without any metallic gloss of any kind. The general 

 colour of the underparts is greyish white, each feather with a brown centre, 

 darkest on the upper breast. The female of this species may always be 

 recognized by the oblique bars on the tail-feathers. Young in first plumage 

 closely resemble adult females, but young males may always be distin- 

 guished by having an alar speculum. Males in first nuptial plumage have 

 pale margins to the wing-coverts, and most of the feathers of the rump are 

 broadly barred, instead of finely vermiculated, with white. Adult males in 

 VOL. in. 2 N 



