THE PINTAIL DUCK. 
267 
state of the weather, or the appearance of other species, with which it keeps 
company. Their plumage is in fine condition when they arrive ; their tail- 
feathers are then as long as at any other period, and .the whole apparel of 
the adult birds is as perfect as in the breeding season. 
On the water, few birds exhibit more graceful motions than the Pintail 
Duck. Its delicately slender neck, the beautiful form of its body, and its 
pointed tail, which it always carries highly raised, distinguish it from the 
other species with which it may associate. There seems also a kind of natu- 
ral modesty in it which you do not find in other Ducks, and its notes, which 
are often heard, are soft and pleasant. That these notes should ever have 
been compared to those of the Mallard, appears to me very strange — so 
strange that I am tempted to believe that they who say so must have mis- 
taken Mallards for Pintails. 
Whilst with us, the Pintail is found in company with the Baldpate or 
American Widgeon, the Blue-winged Teal, and the Mallard, more frequent- 
ly on ponds than on streams, although it sometimes resorts to the latter, 
when their shores are overhung with beech-trees loaded with their nutritious 
fruits, of which this species is extremely fond, and in search of which they 
even ramble to a short distance into the woods. Were this Duck to feed 
entirely on beech-nuts, I have no doubt that its flesh would be excellent. . It 
feeds on tadpoles in spring, and leeches in autumn, while, during winter, a 
dead mouse, should it come in its way, is swallowed with as much avidity 
as by a Mallard. To these articles of food it adds insects of all kinds, and, 
in fact, it is by no means an inexpert fly-catcher. 
The Pintails are less shy in the Western Country than most species of 
their family, and in this respect they resemble the Blue-winged Teals, which 
in fact might be called stupid birds with as much propriety as many others. 
They swim rather deeply, keep close together, and raise the hind part of the 
body like the Mallards ; and on the water, on land, or on the wing, several 
may generally be killed at a shot. A friend of mine killed nineteen with 
two shots of his double-barrelled gun. They are scarcely nocturnal, but rest 
much in the middle of the day, basking in the sunshine whilst on the water, 
whenever they can indulge in this luxury. While on ponds, they feed along 
the most shallow parts, or by the edges ; and if you take my advice, you 
will never shoot at them while their heads are at the bottom, and their feet 
kicking above water. I have several times, for diversion, done so, but in no 
instance did I damage a single individual. But when they raise their heads, 
you may commit great havoc among them. 
During heavy rains in winter, or after them, the Pintails are fond of 
alighting on our broad prairies, corn-fields, and meadows ; and in almost 
every puddle you may then find them busily engaged. They move over 
