FOOD HABITS OF SHOAL- WATER DUCKS. 31 



PINTAIL. 



(Dqfila acuta.) 

 Plate VI. 



The pintail breeds abundantly along the northern border of the 

 United States from Lake Superior almost to the Pacific, and north- 

 ward to the Arctic coast northwest of Hudson Bay and west to 

 Alaska. It is uncommon as a breeder east of a line drawn from the 

 western side of Hudson Bay to the western shore of Lake Michigan, 

 and south of the northern tier of. States except on the Great Plains. 

 It breeds also south to northern Illinois, southern Colorado, and 

 southern California, winters as far south as Cuba and Panama, and 

 abundantly in the southern half of the United States. The species 

 breeds also in the northern portions of the Old World and migrates 

 south in winter to northern Africa and southern Asia. 



The pintail is easily recognized by its long neck as well as by the long, 

 pointed middle tail feathers from which it derives most of its common 

 names. In addition to "pintail" it is sometimes known locally as 

 "sprig," "sprig-tail," "sharp-tail," and "spike-tail." A cinnamon- 

 brown wing bar, present in both sexes, also is distinctive. The adult 

 male has a very dark brown head, a white stripe on each side of the 

 neck, and the sides and back finely marked with black and white 

 wavy lines. 



FOOD HABITS. 



In its general habits the pintail quite closely resembles the mal- 

 lard, although it probably s]3ends less time feeding on dry land remote 

 from the water. It is not particularly adept at diving, but never- 

 theless obtains much of its food from under the surface and often 

 from the bottom in shallow water, by tipping-up for it. It nests 

 in low meadows or sloughs, frequently some distance from water. 

 The female is very solicitous in the care of her young, attempting to 

 decoy an intruder away from them by playing wounded, or to distract 

 his attention by circling around and quacking loudly. In autumn, 

 pintails usually gather in good-sized flocks either by themselves or 

 with other shallow-water ducks, and are much sought after for their 

 flesh, which is very palatable. 



The stomachs of 790 10 pintails, collected from practically all parts 

 of North America from Alaska and Hudson Bay to California, Texas, 

 and Florida, were available for this investigation. The largest num- 

 bers were taken in the States of Louisiana (172), Washington (139), 

 Texas (110), Utah (91), Florida (44), and North Carolina (42), the 

 remainder being well scattered. Of the total number, data on the 

 contents of 769, representing the months from September to March, 

 inclusive, were used in computing averages. 



10 Two hundred and thirty-seven of these were examined by W. L. McAtee. 



