The Pintail 



Authorities. — Gambel (Dafila caudacuta), Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., ser. 2, 

 i., 1849, p. 226 (Calif.); Willed, Pac. Coast Avifauna, no. 7, 1912, p. 24 (status in s. 

 Calif.); 11. C.Bryant, Condor, vol. xvi., 1914, pp. 220, 227 (desc. nest and eggs, etc.). 



WHETHER AS the object of admiring glances or covetous, whether 

 as a flying target, a table bird, or, better still, as the subject of Brooks's 

 brush, the lordly Pintail deserves, it seems to me, first place in the con- 

 sideration of the connoisseur. The Mallard is the contemporary ancestor 

 of the domestic duck, and as such is perhaps entitled to early notice; 

 but the Pintail is the epitome of all that makes ducks interesting. He 

 is as handsome as any (save the Wood Duck, who is a professional beauty), 

 and to the splendor of a tasteful color-pattern he adds both a sinuous 

 gracefulness of movement and a bearing of conscious nobility which no 

 other duck exhibits. Mark him sitting high on the water, reflecting the 

 morning sun from his snowy breast, swaying the mobile neck in sagacious 

 scrutiny, and raising the slender, tapering tail aloft, like an ensign, and 

 you know you are dealing with an avian equal, a bird of quality and resource. 



Pintails are wary birds, and when mingling on the water with other 

 species are usually the first to give the alarm. Being of a sociable nature, 

 and also fastidious as to personal appearance, they spend a good deal of 

 time on shore preening their feathers and gabbling amiably, or else nap- 





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Taken in San Francisco 



LORD AND LADY PINTAIL 



Photo by the Author 



1786 



