180 DUCKS, GEESE, AND SWANS 



It is in recognition of its beauty that this duck is some- 

 times called the Water Pheasant. Its correct name, however, 

 has been bestowed in honor of its seven-inch-long, finely 

 pointed tail. 



This bird ranges over nearly the whole of North America, 

 but its favorite breeding-grounds are in the subarctic regions, 

 particularly in the Yukon Valley, and in the lake regions of 

 the Canadian Barren Grounds. It is equally at home on the 

 fresh-water lakes and rivers of the interior and the salt- 

 water inlets and channels of the Atlantic coast. The annual 

 migration southward before the advance of snow and ice begins 

 in September. On our Atlantic coast many of the flocks 

 winter in the labyrinth of sounds, bays and channels that 

 fringe the coast of Virginia and the Carolinas. 



During recent years, quite a number of these birds have 

 been caught alive near Water Lily, North Carolina, which is 

 a locality famous for its wild ducks, geese and swans. 



Fortunately the Pintail is easily acclimatized, and al- 

 though not a good breeder, like the mallard, it does well in 

 captivity, and is truly a thing of beauty, and a joy as long as 

 it lives. 



The beauty of the Wood Duck, or Summer Duck,i de- 

 pends almost wholly upon its brilliantly colored plumage; 

 for its form is quite commonplace. It may be wrong to make 

 a cold-blooded analysis of its points, but for beauty of form 

 the neck of this bird is too small and too short, its head is too 

 large, and its body is very ordinary. Its plumage, however, 

 presents a color scheme, of brilliant reds, greens, blacks, 



' Aix spon'sa. Average length of male, 19 inches. 



