76 PINTAIL DUCK. 
On the marshy shores of some of the bays of Lake Ontario they 
are often plenty in the months of October and November. I also 
met with them at Louisville on the Ohio. 
The Pintail Duck is twenty-six inches in length, and two feet 
ten inches in extent ; the bill is a dusky lead color ; irides dark 
hazel ; head and half of the neck pale brown, each side of the 
latter marked with a band of purple violet, hind part of the upper 
half of the neck black, bordered on each side by a stripe of white, 
which spreads over the lower part of the neck before ; sides of the 
breast, and upper part of the back, white, thickly and elegantly 
marked with tranverse undulating lines of black, here and there 
tinged with pale buff; throat, and middle of the belly, white tinged 
with cream ; flanks finely penciled with waving lines ; vent white ; 
under tail-coverts black; lesser wing-coverts brown ash, greater 
the same, tipt with orange, below which is the speculum or beauty 
spot of rich golden green, bordered below with a band of black, 
and another of white; primaries dusky brown; tertials long, black, 
edged with white, and tinged with rust ; rump and tail-coverts pale 
ash, centred with dark brown ; tail greatly pointed, the two middle 
tapering feathers being full five inches longer than the others and 
black, the rest brown ash edged with white ; legs a pale lead color. 
The female has the crown of a dark brown color ; neck of a 
dull brownish white, thickly speckled with dark brown ; breast 
and belly pale brownish white, interspersed with black ; back and 
root of the neck above black, each feather elegantly waved with 
broad lines of brownish white, these wavings become rufous on 
the scapulars ; vent white, spotted with dark brown ; tail dark 
brown spotted with white; the two middle tail feathers half an 
inch longer than the others. 
The Sprigtail is an elegantly formed, long-bodied Duck, the 
neck longer and more slender than most others. 
