British Birds in Their Haunts

by C. A. Johns

The Shoveler is well distinguished among all the British Ducks by the form and structure of its bill, which in old birds is dilated near the extremity into a form approaching that of a spoon, and is furnished with a fringe of slender lamellæ, resembling a comb. Towards the end of the bill these are not conspicuous as long as the mouth of the bird is closed, but along the narrower part they are prominent under all circumstances. So singular an apparatus obviously indicates that the habit of the Shoveler is to sift water and mud for the sake of securing the insects and worms which they contain. It resorts, therefore, to the margins of fresh-water lakes, ponds, and ditches, and is rarely seen at sea, nor does it ever dive after its food in deep water, but frequently comes to land in quest of slugs, snails, and worms. It is met with from time to time in many parts of England; a tolerable number remain to breed with us, especially in the eastern counties. Its distaste for the sea disqualifies it for inhabiting the Arctic Regions; consequently it breeds in temperate countries, and flies farther to the south in winter, having been observed on both shores of the Mediterranean, and in some of the warm parts of India. The extensive drainage of our fens and marshes has made it less frequent in England than it formerly was; but in Holland and other continental countries it is abundant. The nest, usually placed in a tuft of grass, is made of dry grass mixed with down which the female plucks from her own body, and contains eight or nine eggs.

The Shoveler is not sufficiently common in this country to claim any importance as an article of food, but its flesh is said to be superior in flavour even to that of the famous Canvas-backed Duck of America.

The male annually undergoes a moult, or change of feathers, similar to that described as taking place in the Mallard.

THE PINTAIL DUCK
DAFILA ACÚTA

Two central tail-feathers much elongated, black; head and neck rich dark brown; back and flanks marked with zigzag black and grey lines; front of the neck, and a line on each side, white; speculum lustrous with green and purple, bounded above by reddish brown, below by white; bill lead colour and black. Female—central tail-feathers scarcely elongated; head and neck reddish brown speckled with dusky; upper feathers dusky edged with reddish white; lower plumage reddish yellow spotted with brown; speculum dull yellowish brown; no white line on the side of the neck. Length twenty-six inches. Eggs dull greenish white.

The Pintail Duck is a northern bird which visits our shores in small parties, during severe winters, and it nests sometimes in Ireland. In form it is the most elegant of all the Ducks, and its movements are described as being active and graceful. I have never myself had the good fortune to see one alive, the only specimen I ever possessed having been sent to me from Newcastle-on-Tyne, near which it was shot at sea. It is not, however, considered a very rare species, as the fishermen on the Norfolk coast, and perhaps elsewhere, are well acquainted with it. Yarrell states, that on the coast of Dorsetshire and Hampshire it is so well known as to have acquired a local name, 'Sea Pheasant'.[36] For this it is indebted to the length of its tail, in which respect it differs from all the common Ducks. It arrives early in autumn, and remains either on the coast or in the inland marshes, until the return of spring; differing, indeed, little in its habits from the common wild Duck. It is occasionally taken in decoys in Norfolk, and has often been observed to associate with Wigeons. Its note is described by Montagu as being 'extremely soft and inward'.

The Pintail Duck has a wide geographical range, as it either breeds in or pays winter visits to the greater part of the northern hemisphere. The male annually assumes in summer the plumage of the female, resembling in this respect the Mallard, to be described hereafter. The flesh is considered excellent, on which account it is much sought after by wild-fowl shooters, both on the coast and in the fens.