PINTAIL DUCK. 
9.5 
never have published an opinion, which, in this quarter of the 
globe, would subject one, even from the vulgar, to the impu- 
tation of ignorance.*] 
PINTAIL DUCK— ANAS ACUTA.— Plate LXVIII. Fig. 3 
Le Canard a longue queue, Sriss. vi. p. 369. 16. pi. 34. fig. 1, 2. — JSuff. ix. p. 
199, pi. 13. — PL EnL 954. — Arct. Zool. No. 600. — Lath, Syn. iii. p. 526. — 
Peale's Museum^ No. 2806. 
BAFILA ACUTA— LEACH.f 
Dafila caudacuta, Shaw's Zool.— Steph. Cont. xii. p. 127. — Canard a longue queue 
au pillet, Tiemm. Man, d' Ornith, ii. 838. — Pintail, ikZbnf. — Bew. — Selby's Plust. 
pi. 42. m Anas acuta. Cracker. — Flem. Br. Anim, p. 124. — Bonap. Synop. 
p. 383. — Anas (dafila) caudacuta, North. Zool, ii. p. 441. 
The pintail, or, as it is sometimes called, the sprigtail, is a 
common and well-known duck in our markets, much esteemed 
for the excellence of its flesh, and is generally in good order. 
It is a shy and cautious bird, feeds in the mud flats, and shal- 
low fresh water marshes ; but rarely resides on the sea- coast. 
It seldom dives, is very noisy, and has a kind of chattering 
note. When wounded, they will sometimes dive, and, coming 
up, conceal themselves under the bow of the boat, moving 
round as it moves. Are vigilant in giving the alarm on the 
approach of the gunner, who often curses the watchfulness of 
* The concluding paragraph, marked off with brackets, is an addition by Mr 
Ord. 
f In this beautiful species we have the type of the subgenus Dafila. In it 
the marginal laminse begin to disappear, and the bill to assume what may be 
called a more regular outline, approaching to that of A. boschas, our wild and 
domestic breed. Another peculiarity is the developement of the tail, which be- 
comes much lengthened, whence the name of sea pheasant. In this country 
they are not very common, which may arise from their being more difficult to 
procure, by their frequenting the sea rather than any inland water ; they arc 
frequently taken, however, in decoys, and I once shot two feeding in the evening 
on a wet stubble field in company with the common wild-duck. — Ed. 
