302 
The Pintail 
are to be seen. Yonder white-backed Lesser Scaups seemingdy should be 
with their deep-diving relatives, the Canvasbacks, but they nest in the 
grass at the edge of these shallow sloughs. 
But what are those slender, elegant ducks, long of neck, agile of 
movement, the male an exquisite gray and white, with a long spike of 
tail held up carefully out of the water? At last I have found the Pin- 
tail; and it is well worth a journey of more than two thousand miles to 
visit it in its summer home. It is a duck of distinction, clad with grace 
and beauty, with sprightliness of disposition, and a rakishness of form 
which together prove it of distinguished lineage. It is the greyhound of 
the anatine world, rather than the mastiff or collie. One might even 
PINTAILS FLYING NEAR MARSH ISLAND REFUGE. LOUISIANA 
Photograph by H. K. Job, New Year’s JMorning, 1914 
venture to term it the “sportiest” of the ducks — active, alert, possessed 
of real “style” ; and, although moderate in weight, of sufficiently good 
food-quality. Though fairly shy and watchful, it is not hard to surprise 
it in the small reedy pools which it often frequents. The flock is likely 
to bunch when alarmed, and travels with ranks compact. 
In one of these alkaline ponds, on a small grassy island, where 
grew also a few low bushes and clumps of weeds, I found a nest, prob- 
ably of one of those pairs I had watched through my glass. It was the 
fifth of June, a cold, stormy day. I had waded to the island, sinking to 
the tops of long boots, and had begun to beat about, hoping to start 
some duck from her nest. Suddenly there was a flutter and a spring, 
and a grayish duck with sharp tail-feathers shot into the air, and hurtled 
