72 



PINTAIL DUCK. 

 AJVAS ACUTA. 

 [Plate LXVIII.— Fig. 3.] 



Le Canard d longue queue, Bms. VI, p. 369. 16. pi. B^.Jig. ±, 2 — ^Buff. IX, p. 199. pi. 13 — PL Enl 

 dBi.—Arct. Zool. J^o. 500. — ^Lath. Syn. Ill, p. B26 ^Peale's Museum, JSTo. 2806. 



THE Pintail, or as it is sometimes called, the Sprigtail, is a 

 common and well known duck in our markets, much esteemed for 

 the excellence of its flesh, and is generally in good order. It is 

 a shy and cautious bird, feeds in the mud flats, and shallow fresh 

 water marshes ; but rarely resides on the sea coast. It seldom 

 dives, is very noisy, and has a kind of chattering note. When 

 wounded they will sometimes dive, and coming up conceal them- 

 selves under the bow of the boat, moving round as it moves. Are 

 vigilant in giving the alarm on the approach of the gunner, who 

 often curses the watchfulness of the sprigtail. Some ducks when 

 aroused disperse in different directions ; but the Sprigtails when 

 alarmed cluster confusedly together as they mount, and thereby 

 afford the sportsman a fair opportunity of raking them with ad- 

 vantage. They generally leave the Delaware about the middle 

 of March, on the way to their native regions the north, where 

 they are most numerous. They inhabit the whole northern parts 

 of Europe and Asia, and doubtless the corresponding latitudes of 

 America. Are said likewise to be found in Italy. Great flocks 

 of them are sometimes spread along the isles and shores of Scot- 

 land and Ireland, and on the interior lakes of both these countries. 

 On the marshy shores of some of the bays of Lake Ontario they 

 are often plenty in the months of October and November. I have 

 also met with them at Louisville on the Ohio. 



