
ESP UNG: 
ALLAN BROOKS. 
This is another duck of wide distribution, 
being identical in both Nearctic and Pa- 
learctic regions. It also has a wide mi- 
gratory range, breeding very far North and 
going South to the equatorial regions in the 
Old World. In South America it is rep- 
resented by several allied species. 
A few breed in Southern British Colum- 
bia and even farther South. In the Old 
World it breeds as far South as Andalusia. 
Without any vivid coloration it is still a 
very handsome duck and, flying, swimming 
or walking, is the personification of grace. 
The note of the male, generally heard only 
in spring, is a soft rolling whistle, exactly 
like that of the green wing teal, but in a 
lower key. This note is uttered both on the 
wing and when settled, and when the com- 
bined notes of many hundreds are blended 
with the less musical notes of the mallard, 
the louder whistle of the wigeon and the 
subdued chatter and gabble of hundreds of 
other feeding ducks, it forms a chorus that 
to a wildfowler is always associated with 
the breakup of winter on the prairies. 
Like the shoveller, the male seldom gets 
into really perfect plumage before January, 
the bulk of the males shot in the fall being 
in female plumage or changing, with the 
long central tail feathers undeveloped. 
19 
Old females sometimes acquire a tail of 
considerable length. Her plumage then par- 
takes a good deal of the character of that 
of the male, the under parts being spotless 
and the upper surface with a good deal of 
whitish freckling. 
The pintail decoys readily and comes in 
well to the mallard call. When only 
wounded it does not seem to be such an 

adept at hiding as other ducks of its own 
oraer. 
When feeding with mallards, wigeons or 
teal, it does not turn tail uppermost as these 
birds do, its longer neck enabling it to 
reach the bottom when sitting flat on the 
water. It is one of the best ducks for the 
table and, except the wigeon, is the only 
duck wintering commonly in Southern Brit- 
ish Columbia that does not resort to the 
rivers to feed on rotten salmon. 
The eye of this duck is smaller in propor- 
tion than that of any other surface feeding 
duck except the shoveller. Mhe- ints 1s 
dark brown. The bill in the male 
is clear, bluish, plumbous, with a 
narrow border at base, and _ the cul- 
men and tip are black. The female’s bill 
is similar with the culmen marbled with 
dusky. The feet are plumbous with mem- 
branes dusky. 
