RIVER DUCKS 



(143) Dafila acuta 



{Linn.) (Lat., acute, — retcrrinc to the 

 pointed tail). 



PINTAIL; SPRIG-TAIL. Neck 

 long and slender. Middle tail feath- 

 ers lengthened. Form slender. Ad. 

 cf — As shown by the swimming 

 bird. Ad. 9 — Buff-colored, lighter 

 on the throat; darker on the crown 

 and back, and streaked and spotted 

 with dusky; breast and sides more or 

 less mottled; speculum grayish-brown 

 bordered with white; axillars barred 

 with black. L., cT 28.00, 2 22.00; 

 W., 10.00; T., (f 75°. ? 3-6o; B., 

 2.00. Noles — A quacking similar 

 to Mallards. Eggs — Six to twelve, 

 buffy-white, 2.20 x 1.50. 



Range — Northern Hemisphere. 

 Breeds from III, Colo, and Cal., 

 north to the Arctic coast. Winters 

 from Bel., Wis. and B. C. southward. 



that are difBcult of access. The eggs, which are from eight 

 to twelve in number, are pale greenish-gray. 



PINTAILS, or Springtails as most gunners term them, 

 are also cosmopolitan in their distribution. They are re- 

 markable among our ducks for their verj' long thin necks. 

 Scattered pairs of Pintails nest in the central and western 

 portions of the United States, but the centre of their abun- 

 dance during the breeding season is from Keewatin to 

 Alaska. In the latter region Mr. E. W. Nelson has made 

 quite complete observations of their habits. 



At mating time, the female mil occasionally rise in the 

 air with the male in close pursuit; she leads him a merry 

 chase, often joined in by other males, at one moment being 

 nearly out of sight overhead and the next just skimming the 

 ground. At other times she will plunge at full speed under 

 water, followed by her pursuers, all rising and taking wing 

 a short distance beyond. 



WOOD DUCKS are generally conceded to be the most 



SS 



