THE PINTAIL. 375 



the extreme, and from this cause is allowed by the Roman 

 Catholics to be eaten on fast days and in lent ; and, indeed, must 

 be a sufficient mortification. 



THE PINTAIL. 



This bird is less than the wild duck ; its length is twenty-eight 

 inches, breadth thirty-eight, and its weight twenty-four ounces. 



Tke form of the pintail is slender, and the neck long : bill 

 long and black, on the sides blueish ; the head, for an inch of 

 the neck before, rusty purplish brown ; nape dusky ; forepart 

 and sides of the neck white, a little mottled with dusky, the white 

 rising upwards on each side at the back part like ribbands ; part 

 of the neck, and back, greyish white, finely barred with black ; 

 sides of the body the same, but paler ; scapulars black, long, 

 pointed, and margined with very pale cream-colour ; wings pale 

 dusky brown ; across them, first a pale rufous bar, then a broad 

 deep copper-coloured one, edged with blacky and below this is 

 a narrow one of white ; the two middle tail feathers are black, 

 and more than three inches longer than the rest, and end in a 

 point ; the exterior feathers of the tail are ash- coloured ; the 

 under parts of the body are white ; vent black, the sides of it 

 white ; legs and feet small and lead -coloured. 



The female is smaller ; head and neck dusky, minutely streaked 

 with brown, spotted with black ; tail as in the male, but the two 

 middle feathers not so far elongated. 



This species is pretty common during winter in England, es?* 

 2 i 2 



