The Pintail 97 
years — will never approach closely unless men are constantly around them, as 
in such public places as St. James's Park or the Zoo. Any sudden movement 
seems to scare them, and the presence of a dog or a strange creature creates 
a veritable panic. 
The Pintail feeds in the water like the Wigeon, reaching beneath the 
surface to pull up the water-plants by the roots, and then separating them ; 
and in this position it will sometimes remain for a long time, working away 
with its feet on the surface of the water to maintain equilibrium. Ashore 
it walks about more freely and gracefully than any of the surface-feeders, 
and frequently stops, raising its long neck to watch and listen. At all times, 
except in the nuptial season, it is remarkably silent. The female sometimes 
utters a low * quack,' and also makes a croaking noise like that uttered by 
the female Wigeon ; and I have twice heard the male, when flying, emit 
the low double whistle, which he usually gives vent to only in the spring. 
At other times pinioned drakes seldom, if ever, utter a sound, except 
something like the cheeping-peevish cry made by the Wigeon when very 
frightened or wounded ; we may presume therefore that, unlike the Teal, the 
Pintail drake, as a rule, reserves his double note for purposes of courtship. 
His flight is graceful and rapid, and on the wing the species can easily be 
recognised at a distance by its long body and neck, and its sharp-pointed 
wings and tail. 
The nuptial call of the drake is identical with that of the Teal. During 
courtship I have noticed a disposition on the part of the males to crowd the female 
with their attention as the Wigeon do ; there is the same * start up ' and tail 
elevation, and the same simultaneous action in the movement of other males 
sitting near at hand on the water. The female only occasionally utters a low 
quack, but she sometimes makes a call something like the growling croak of the 
female Wigeon. At no time, in fact, do the females of any of the ducks utter a 
sound resembling the call of the males, as is suggested in several well-known 
works on natural history. The notes of both sexes are always quite distinct. 
o 
