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The Natural History of British Ducks 
THE PINTAIL 
Dafila acuta (LiNNiEUS) 
Like its congener, the Shoveler, this elegant duck roams far and wide over 
the surface of the earth. In summer it is generally distributed round the 
whole of the northern hemisphere. A few now nest regularly in Great 
Britain and the Faroes ; it occurs also in East Greenland, and in greater 
numbers in Iceland, especially in the Myvatn district, though even there it 
cannot be called common. In Russian Lapland it nests in suitable localities, 
such as the mouths of the great Siberian rivers, and ranges right across 
Europe and Asia to the Pacific. Some few breed in Holland, and recent 
observation has proved that it probably nests as far south as the Rhone delta. 
Mr. Heatley Noble informs me that he has recently (1901) taken the nest 
with the parent bird in the marshes near Seville in Spain. In America and 
Canada the Pintail is likewise common in summer from Alaska to Labrador, 
and nests up to latitude 72°. In the New World the winter migrations extend 
over the whole of the Southern States, and reach as far as the West Indies 
and Central America. In Asia a stream of birds passes down to India by 
way of Cashmir, where they gather in thousands on the lakes in spring and 
autumn ; many, too, winter in Southern China, and a few in Japan. In Asia 
the Pintail goes as far south as Borneo ; it also winters in North Africa, in 
Egypt, and all over the continent of Europe south of a line drawn north of 
Great Britain and Denmark. 
The full benefit of the Wild Birds' Protection Act remains to be seen ; 
