DUCKS, GEESE, AND SWANS. 195 



the "Sea Pheasant" in some districts, although in 

 others the name is applied to the Long-tailed Duck 

 a member of the next sub-family. The male is 

 distinguished by his brown head, shot with bronze 

 tints, black nape, and white stripe on either side of 

 the neck, which runs into the white underparts ; by 

 the green speculum emphasised above with pale 

 chestnut, and below with white, and finely pencilled 

 black and gray upper plumage: the long pointed 

 black scapulars, broadly edged with dull white, are 

 also a noteworthy feature. The female is much 

 less showily coloured, mottled-brown above, and 

 grayish-white below, but the brown tail feathers, 

 obliquely barred with white, readily distinguish her 

 from allied species. The favourite haunts of the 

 Pintail, during its sojourn with us, are the shallow 

 estuaries, especially on our eastern and southern 

 coasts. It arrives on our coasts chiefly in October 

 and November, and leaves them in April. The 

 Pintail is a remarkably gregarious species, congre- 

 gating in large flocks during winter, and it has been 

 observed that many of these gatherings are com- 

 posed exclusively of male birds. It is a shy and 

 wary bird, feeding principally at night, visiting the 

 land or the shallows at dusk, and when so engaged, 

 sentinels are generally on the look-out, ready to 

 give the alarm. It obtains its food by dipping the 

 fore half of the body under water, and exploring 

 the mud with its bill ; but sometimes stubbles and 

 meadows near the sea are visited for the purpose. 



