Other Name.—Spoonbill Duck.
Description.—Comparatively small, but larger than the Teals. Bill very large and broad, noticeably so even at considerable distance in the field. Male: Head and neck rich black, glossed with green and violet; line down back of neck and back dark brown; belly and sides rich chestnut; lesser wing-coverts gray-blue, as in the Blue-winged Teal, the greater coverts brownish, tipped with white; speculum green; upper and under tail-coverts black; eyes yellow; feet pink. Female: Head and neck streaked with black and buffy bars; throat buffy; underparts buffy, feathers margined and spotted with dark brown and buffy; feet orange-pink, paler than in male; eyes brown; bill greenish yellow, blotched with brownish. Immature birds are intermediate in appearance between the adult male and adult female. The immature female’s speculum is noticeably grayish, with little green. Length: 20 inches.
Range in Pennsylvania.—Rather rare migrant from March 1 to April 15 and from September 15 to November 1. Not usually seen in large flocks.
Shoveler, Male
The huge bill of this species will distinguish it in any plumage. Its blue wing-coverts have much the appearance of those of the Blue-winged Teal.
PINTAIL
Dafila acuta tzitzihoa (Vieillot)
Other Names.—Sprig; Sprig-tail; Spike-tail.
Description.—Neck long and slender in both sexes. Male in mating plumage, which is characteristic of the winter months: Head warm brown, glossed faintly on cheeks with violet; back of neck blackish, bordered by white stripes which run down sides of neck to breast; back brownish gray; shoulders black, margined with white or buffy; wing brownish gray, the greater coverts tipped with cinnamon; speculum green, bordered narrowly with white; central tail-feathers very long and narrow, black; underparts white; sides heavily marked with fine lines of black. Female: Crown blackish, irregularly marked with rich brown; throat white; sides of head and neck considerably streaked; breast buffy, spotted with blackish; feathers of sides margined and barred with dark brown and white; under wing-coverts dark brown, bordered with whitish. The male in summer breeding dress resembles the female. Length: Male, 28 inches, in full, long-tailed plumage; female, 22 inches.
Range in Pennsylvania.—A fairly common and regular migrant from March 1 to April 15 and from September 20 to December 15. It has even been known to winter in the northern part of the Commonwealth.
Pintail
Male Female
The female, while not strikingly marked, may be recognized by the long neck, the sharply pointed middle tail-feathers, and by the dark under wing-coverts. Pintails are swift fliers, and have the ability of rising straight into the air from a pond or from the ground.