THE PINTAIL 317 
be a revelation. The beautiful plumage and 
trim lines of the wildfowl would surprise him 
greatly. Among these the Pintail drake is in 
the front rank. He is a beautiful fellow with a 
brilliant though not gaudy dress. His head and 
upper neck are a deep brown, showing in differ- 
ent lights a bronze-like sheen with glossy green 
and purple tints. A line of snowy white run- 
ning up on the back of the neck on each side 
of the central strip of black which extends 
downward into the gray of the back and wing 
coverts. Lower neck in front, breast and under 
parts of snowy whiteness, save on the flanks 
where there are fine dusky pencillings as on the 
back, and the crissum which is jet black, sharply 
and cleanly defined against the surrounding 
white. Back silvery gray or whitish, finely and 
evenly barred with irregular wavy black lines. 
The scapulars and tertiaries striped lengthwise 
with black, whitish and silver gray. Speculum 
a greenish- or coppery-violet, framed about in 
black, tawny and white borders. Tail feathers 
yellowish gray, long central feathers black. In 
length the bird varies from twenty-five to thirty 
inches, according to the development of the tail 
feathers. In extent he is from thirty-four to 
