PINTAIL. 



ANAS ACUTA, Linn. 



Anas acuta, Linn. S. N. i. p. 202 (1766) ; Naum. xi. p. 638 ; 



Hewitson, ii. p. 403. 

 Querquedula acuta, Macg. v. p. 65. 

 Dafila acuta, Yarr. ed. 4, iv. p. 380 ; Dresser, vi. p. 531. 



Pilet, French ; Spiess-Ente, Spitz-Ente, German ; Pato 

 rabudo, Pato careto, Spanish. 



This handsome Duck is a regular, but not a very 

 abundant, autumnal visitor to our islands ; its numbers, 

 however, vary considerably in various years, and it 

 appears to be more common now in many parts of 

 England than was formerly the case. I have seen more 

 Pintails in a certain locality in the centre of Ireland 

 than anywhere else in British dominions, and have been 

 assured by the owner that a few of these birds breed 

 regularly in the district to which I refer. I am not 

 personally acquainted with any other instance of their 

 nesting in the United Kingdom. 



The principal breeding-haunts of this species are in 

 the far north of Europe and America, and as it is exceed- 

 ingly abundant during the winter in many parts of the 

 Mediterranean coasts, I imagine that the chief lines of 

 its migration must lie to the eastward of our country. 



