COMMON PINTAIL. 
121 
might have been now and then seen hanging in 
poultry shops of Edinburgh, tilled in this country ; 
but these must not now be mistaken for the numbers 
that are received from decoys, and said to bo killed 
in France and Holland. During the last winter 
(1842-3) the pintail was in Edinburgh perhaps one 
of the most abundant species nest to the widgeon, 
and all from the sources we have noticed. Of its ha- 
bits we know comparatively little from observation 
in this country. Mr. Selby states, that in confine- 
ment it becomes soon tame, but does not breed, 
or at least rarely, which wo rather attribute to other 
circumstances; and the same thing has been ob- 
served of the birds in the Zoological Society, though 
the males periodically undergo the change to the 
duek-like plumage that we noticed as occurring in 
the mallard. A hybrid progeny between this spe- 
cies and the widgeon has been obtained, and we 
may mention here, that we have seen a hybrid be- 
tween it and the mallard purchased from a poulterer 
in Dumfries, who procured it in a wild state ; this 
bird is now in the collection of W. T. Carruthers, 
Esq. of Dormont. It combined the resemblance of 
the form and plumage of the pintail, but with a few 
minor differences ; the curled feathers of the tail 
were completely developed, as much so as in an 
adult mallard. We have since also received a draw- 
ing of a bird also procured wild, by the attention 
of Col. II. Smith, which exhibits a mixed plumage, 
and is considered a hybrid bird. 
It is generally distributed in Europe, becoming 
