34 
FANCY WATERF0W1 
this cause is due the appalling collection of mongrels 
which disgrace our London park waters. I now proceed 
to the consideration of the Mallard’s near wild ally 
kept with us, 
THE SPOTTED-BILL DUCK. 
(Anas poecilorhyncha). 
This is the common wild duck of India and Burma, 
and is not migratory ; nevertheless it is found quite 
hardy in England, and breeds well here. It is a little 
larger than the Mallard, longer in neck and leg, and 
shorter in wing ; otherwise in voice, figure, and habits it 
is nearly identical, though more active. It differs, how- 
ever, strikingly in plumage, and in both sexes being 
alike, with, as is usual in such cases, no summer change. 
They resemble the female rather than the male wild 
duck, although much more showy than she is. 
The general colour of the plumage may be described 
as pale drab, mottled with blackish brown, the drab 
decreasing behind, till the rump and stern become quite 
black. The wings bear a large brilliant green bar edged 
with white fore and aft, and surmounted by a long, white 
splash, the outer webs of the innermost quills being 
white. The feet are orange-red and the bill is scarlet at 
the root, black in the middle, and bright yellow at the 
tip, a very showy marking, which distinguishes its 
owner at once. The drakes run brighter in bill ami feet 
than the ducks, which are also apt to fade soon after 
the moult as regards the white wing-streak, which gets 
clouded over with drab, at any rate in confinement. 
Tii is is a fault which wants correction by breeders. 
But I have often found the sexes so alike in this species 
that one could only distinguish them by the voice, 
which, curiously enough, differs sexually just as in the 
Mallard, although the plumage does not. The Spotted- 
Bill is a comparatively late introduction, and breeds 
when in England late in the year, from June to Sep- 
tember. » It is much inclined to hybridise with the 
Mallard, and the hybrid is at least partly fertile, so that 
care is needed to keep the stocks of these beautiful 
species pure, although fertile hybrids are scientifically 
interesting and less ugly as a rule than crossbreds. 
PINTAILS. 
The Pintails, of which three species are well known 
to fanciers, are surface-feeding ducks, of slender form, 
with long pointed tails. In the Common Pintail the 
sexes are very different, but in the Chilian and Bahama 
Pintails they are much alike. 
THE COMMON PINTAIL. 
(Dafila acuta. ) 
The drake of this species not only differs in plumage 
from the duck, but has a much longer tail and long 
pointed shoulder-plumes. His general colour is a finely- 
pencilled clear grey above and pure white below, the 
latter hue extending up the neck to the head, which is 
dark brown with a lilac gloss on each side behind the 
eyes : the stern and long-pointed centre-tail feathers 
are black, the shoulder-plumes black laced with pale 
drab, and the wing-bar bronze-green edged with cinna- 
mon in front and white behind. There is a yellow- 
buff patch on each flank just before the black vent. 
The duck is dark brown, very clearly laced with buff 
or white, and usually shows no wing-bar, though a bird 
now in my possession has one. The tail is barred 
obliquely with the light colour, which easily distinguishes 
the female common Pintail from those of other ducks. 
Both sexes have grey feet and bill, the latter with a black 
central stripe and dark eyes. 
U'his is the largest of the Pintails, the drake measuring 
about two feet in length, more or less, according to the 
tlevcloj nent of the long tail feathers, which may exceed 
nine inches in length. It is found in a wild state 
throughout most of the Northern Hemisphere, breeding 
in the north and migrating south in winter, at which 
season it regularly visits the British Isles, where a few 
remain to breed. 
In confinement the Pintail drake at once attracts 
attention by his strikingly aristocratic appearance ; his 
white shirt-front, long, reachy neck, and exquisitely 
pointed tail stamp him as the “ fine gentleman” of his 
tribe. His manners are in keeping, quiet and inoffensive, 
and his voice low and unobtrusive. His mate also 
shares his refined appearance, but her quack is painfully 
harsh and coarse. Fortunately she speaks but seldom, 
or her husband might be more ashamed of her than he 
is. It has been noticed that in a wild state Pintails are 
particularly given to forming bachelor parties ! When 
courting, tire Pintail drake suddenly raises himself up- 
right in the water and brings his bill close to Ids breast, 
frequently afterwards throwing up his tail in its turn. 
The species have frequently bred in captivity, and both 
in this condition and at large has produced hybrids with 
the Mallard and its descendant, the common tame duck. 
These hybrids are very handsome, and those between 
the Pintail and domestic duck have bred again either 
with the Pintail or between themselves, though 
in the latter case the ducklings which were bred 
from the hybrid pair proved to be barren when 
they grew up. Possibly their parents were too closely 
related, in addition to their hybrid origin. When 
the offspring of a Pintail drake and a hybrid 
duck were crossed with the Pintail, it was found 
that the taint of the common duck was completely 
removed. In one case a female domesticated wild duck 
actually deserted her own Mallard on a Pintail drake 
being put on the pond, and ultimately paired and pro- 
duced hybrids with him, a fact that may help to explain 
the frequency of this cross in a wild state. 
The Pintail may be expected to breed in April ; the 
eggs are seven to ten, dull green or greenish buff, and 
the ducklings are brown above and white beneath. 
After breeding, the drake goes into undress, and then 
much resembles the duck, except that he retains the 
bright wing-bar, and that the light markings of his 
plumage are white, and partake more of the character 
of pencilling. Some males undergo this change much 
later than others, and one confined in a dealer’s hutch 
has been known not to change at all, doubtless he 
“ stuck in the moult ” owing to ill-health. 
No collection of ducks can be considered complete 
without this Pintail, and being a European bird it is 
cheap and easily obtainable in Leadenhall Market, or 
through the Field , etc. 
THE CHILIAN PINTAIL 
( Dafila spinicauda.) 
This very popular duck closely resembles the female 
of the Common Pintail above described, but the 
plumage is more of a fawn tint, especially on the head, 
where it is rusty red ; the beak also is bluish only at 
the tip, the rest being bright yellow, with a black stripe, 
as in the other species ; the wing-bar is dark green, 
edged with cream colour. This species is considerably 
smaller than the Common Pintail, the drake being only 
about twenty inches long, and the duck less, having a 
shorter tail ; she is also not quite so bright, but, on the 
whole, bears a very close resemblance to her mate. The 
profile of the bill in this Pintail is very markedly con- 
cave or “dished,” and its head is certainly not so pretty 
as the common Pintail’s. 
The Chilian Pintail’s native country is South 
America, from Southern Brazil and Peru to the Falk- 
lands. It is, however, well established in Europe as an 
ornamental bird, and breeds freely in captivity; it also 
often appears at the shows in the Ornamental Water- 
fowl class. Miss Rose Hubbard states t hat the fancy is 
for very small birds ; but this is, I flunk, a great mis- 
take. Nature has provided a whole group of Bantam 
