284 AMERICAN GAME BIRD SHOOTING. 
so that amateurs may recognize them when they see 
them. 
The next of kin to the green-head is the black mallard 
(Anas obscurus), which is also known as the dusky and 
the black duck. This resembles the female of the pre- 
ceding species, but is much darker; the feet have a red- 
dish orange hue; the mandibles are yellowish-green, and it 
weighs about three pounds. It is comparatively scarce in 
the West, but is rather common in the Southwest, espe- 
cially in Texas. It is generally shot from concealment, 
and large bags are rarely made, as it moves in small 
teams and takes little notice of decoys. 
The gadwall, or gray duck (Chaulelasmus streperus), 
is abundant in the West. Its bill is bluish-black; the feet 
are a dull orange; the webs are dusky; the head is alight 
yellowish-red; the general color of the body is a mixture 
of black and white, and the middle wing-coverts are 
chestnut, but the greater coverts are black. The male at- 
tains a length of about twenty-two inches, and a weight 
of nearly two pounds; the female is much smaller. It 
answers readily to the mallard call, and alights to mallard 
decoys, and, being less shy than others of its family, it 
may be approached rather easily, if it is not kept in a con- 
stant state of terror by pot and market hunters. Its 
flesh is excellent, and is considered by epicures to equal 
that of the mallard. 
The pintail duck (Dajila acuta), which is locally known 
as the sprigtail, sharptail, and water pheasant, is exceed- 
ingly common everywhere west of the Mississippi River, 
but is scarce on the eastern seaboard. It seems to be 
fonder of sheltered streams than open lakes or ponds, so 
that it might be called a river duck. Its bill is black; the 
iris is brown; the feet are grayish-blue; the head and up- 
per neck are greenish-brown; an oblique band of white 
decorates each side of the neck; the lower neck and under 
parts are white, and the back is grayish. The tail is com- 
