DUCKS. 
347 
^ ^ „ , The elongation of the middle pair of tail-feathers in the male 
Pmtailed Ducks. . & r . 
give to the almost cosmopolitan pintail duck (Dafila acuta ) its 
distinctive title, and at the same time afford one of the most striking characteristics 
of the genus of which this bird is the typical representative. In both sexes of the 
pintail the neck is unusually long and slender; while the beak is about equal in 
length to the head, with its edges nearly parallel, although expanding slightly 
towards the tip, and with the lamellae but very little exposed. The wings are long 
and pointed, with the first and second quills the longest; and the tail is likewise 
sharply pointed in both sexes, the male bird not only having its two central 
feathers elongated and pointed, but also showing an equally marked lengthening 
of the lanceolate scapular feathers. The legs are rather short, and the webs are 
slightly excavated in front. The pintail resembles the mallard in the circumstance 
that during the summer the male assumes a plumage resembling that of the female. 
At other times the former sex has the head and upper neck dark brown; most 
of the upper-parts grey, forming by undulating lines of greyish and blackish; 
the front of the neck, breast, and considerable portion of the under-parts, white; 
the wing-speculum dark green; and the long tail-feathers black; the beak and 
feet being lead-colour or brownish. The female is nearly brown through¬ 
out, the feathers of the upper - parts being mottled with two shades, while 
those on the under surface are nearly uniform; the tail-feathers showing white 
markings on a brown ground. The length of the male pintail varies from 24 to 
28 inches. 
Found throughout the circumpolar regions, the pintail is a migratory species, 
ranging in winter as far south as Panama and Cuba in the New World, and in the 
Old World to the Mediterranean, Persia, Ceylon, China, Borneo, and Japan. Its 
main breeding-area in the Old World lies to the north of latitude 60°, but it 
descends below this limit in North Germany and Russia, and still more so in 
Siberia. A silent bird during the day, the pintail utters a low quacking sound at 
night. It generally frequents shallow waters, where it feeds upon both vegetable 
and animal food; and in winter commonly associates in flocks, which in India may 
include from twenty to two hundred, or occasionally thousands of head, and are 
at times composed exclusively of male birds. The flight of the pintail is rapid in 
the extreme; and this, together with its shy and wary habits, renders it one of the 
most difficult ducks to shoot, although the excellence of its flesh renders it of 
especial value to the sportsman. When once flushed, pintail almost invariably 
fly clean away, and cannot be driven backwards and forwards from one piece of 
water to another, like so many other ducks. From the closeness of its breast- 
plumage, it is especially necessary in the case of the pintail to allow the bird to 
pass before firing. In the Southern Hemisphere there are several allied ducks, 
such as the Chilian pintail ( D. spinicauda ) of lower South America, the South 
American Bahama duck (D, bahamensis), and the red-billed duck (1). erythro- 
rhyncha) of South Africa, which are considered by many ornithologists as congeneric 
with the European species, although by others they are referred to the distinct 
genus Pcecilonetta. They differ from the true pintail in the slight elongation of 
the middle tail-feathers of the male, and the uniformly dull and much spotted 
coloration of the two sexes. 
