ANAS ACUTA. 



PINTAIL DUCK, 



Generic Character. See Anas Cygnus, (ferus.) 



Synonyms. 



Anas Acuta, Lin. Syji. 1. p. 202. 28. 



Pintail. Br. Z00L 2. 228. Lb. foL 156. Tab. £^fig. 8. 



Lath. Syn. 6. p. 526. 72. Mont. Qrn. Diff, 

 Bewick's Br. Birds, Pt. 2. p. 324. 



TTh I S elegant fpecies weighs about two pounds, it varies 

 in length from twenty-four 10 thirty-two inches, and in breadth 

 from thirty-four to forty inches ; bill flender, about two 

 inches and a half long, the nail fmall ; eyes red ; neck long 

 and remarkably flender ; tail confifts of fixteen feathers, the 

 two centre ones extending from three to five inches beyond 

 the others ; feet fmall ; hind toes placed on the infide of the 

 legs ; claws fmall ; webs very thin, the edges are finely fer- 

 rated. The male is furnifhed with a labyrinth. 



Thefe birds do not breed with us, but quit our mores earl y 

 in the fpring, and retire northward ; they are found in im- 

 menfe numbers in Hudfon's Bay, Iceland, and on the coafts 

 of Ruflia and Siberia, during the fummer feafon ; and they re- 

 appear in this country with the mallard, about the end of 



September 



