55 
DUCKS, GEESE, AND SWANS 
Distribution. — Northern hemisphere, breeding- from Arizona, Missouri, 
an< * illmois northward ; migrating to Cuba and Panama. 
i t St ' 7~ ^ le ^ roun ^’ * n a we ^ concealed depression ; lined with grass 
and leathers. Eggs: 7 to 10, pale greenish to olive buff. 
The pintail is a common and widely distributed species, breeding 
from southern California, Arizona, and Iowa north to Point Barrow. 
In Kansas, Goss says, it haunts the wet prairies, muddy flats, and 
edges of reedy, grassy waters, feeding largely on bulbous roots, 
tender shoots, insects and their larvae, worms, snails, and, in the fall, 
various seeds of water plants, grain, and acorns. At Point Reyes’ 
California, large flocks of the pintails were seen by J. A. Loring 
lying out in the bay waiting for the tide to come in. As soon as it 
covered the salt grass flats they would follow it in and go to feeding. 
GENUS AIX. 
144. Aix sponsa (Linn.). Wood Duck. 
Bill narrow, higher than wide at base. Both sexes with drooping crests. 
Adult male: bill marked 
with black, white, red, and 
yellow; head and crest 
brilliant purple and green, 
with white stripes ; throat 
white ; chest rich chestnut, 
with rows of white trian¬ 
gles; sides gray, with black 
and white bars and cres¬ 
cents ; shoulder crossed by 
black and white bars ; rest 
of upper parts black,varied 
with rich iridescent colors. 
Adult female: head dull 
grayish, glossed with green 
on crest and crown; sides 
of head and throat white ; 
chest brown, belly white ; 
back richly glossed grayish 
brown. Male: length 19.00- 
20.50, wing 9.00-9.50, bill 
1.40. Female smaller. 
Distribution. — Temperate North America, from southern Canada south¬ 
ward. 
Nest. — Usually 30 to 40 feet from the ground in the natural cavity of a 
tree trunk, lined with down. Eggs : usually 8 to 14, creamy white. 
If the end of a rainbow had touched a marsh and dabbled its colors 
over a plain brown duck, it could never have produced anything half 
so brilliant as one of these old male wood ducks in full breeding 
plumage. No wonder the handsome fellows are shy and deem it 
prudent to keep hidden in crooked forest creeks or ponds surrounded 
by tall grass, brush, and trees ! A mossy log in a pond is a favorite 
