138 GAME BIRDS OF CALIFORNIA 



stated that if the eggs are taken, the bird will immediately deposit 

 a second set which is seldom more than five or six in number. 



"As the young are hatched they are led to the small creeks and 

 rivulets, where the birds remain until the young take wing, after 

 which all pass to the great marshes, where they grow fat feeding upon 

 the roots of the horsetails (Equisetum)" (Nelson, 1887, p. 70). The 

 young take wing early in August, before those of any of the other 

 , species. Grinnell (1900, p. 15) saj'^s of a female with a brood of 

 downy young which he found at the edge of a pond in northern 

 Alaska: "The old bird tumbled away through the grass in frantic 

 efforts to distract my attention, [while] the brood of young with one 

 accord scurried across the water to a small islet, and in a moment 

 were scattered through the short grass and completely hidden from 

 view. ' ' 



Coues (1874, p. 562) found the males unable to fly during the molt 

 in July in the northern parts of Montana. Many were killed with 

 sticks or captured by hand at this time. Brooks (1899a, p. 19) says 

 that like the Shoveller, the male Pintails seldom get into really per- 

 fect plumage before January, the bulk of the males shot in the fall 

 being in "female" (eclipse) plumage or changing, with the long 

 central tail feathers not yet developed. Old females sometimes acquire 

 tails of considerable length. Their plumage then partakes a good 

 deal of the character of that of the males, the under parts being 

 spotless and the upper surface having a good deal of whitish flecking. 



Coues (1874, p. 563) says that hybrids of this species with the 

 Mallard are of comparatively frequent occurrence and that in at 

 least one instance such hybrids have proved fertile inter se. There is 

 a stuffed specimen of a hybrid of this origin collected at Los Baiios, 

 Merced County, and now in the Los Baiios Hotel. 



Pintails fly very fast, at a great height, and usually in V-forma- 

 tion. "When "slanting in" to a pond, the distinct noise made by 

 the wings can be heard at quite a distance. The habit of sailing long 

 distances with wings set and curved downwards is a notable character- 

 istic of the species. The birds gather in flocks of as many as fifty 

 individuals, and when flushed crowd close together thus offering good 

 ' ' pot shots. ' ' They spend much time on shore preening their feathers. 

 On the water they sit high and are graceful swimmers. While the 

 Pintail does not resort to diving as a method of securing food, it vrill 

 when wounded in such a way that the wings are useless, submerge 

 itself readily and travel beneath the surface of the water for a long 

 distance. 



The food of the Pintail is largely vegetable. Beck (MS) speaks 

 of this duck as feeding on snails and weed and grass seeds at Los 



