Ornithological biography, Vol. 3 (of 5)

by John James Audubon

The Young after its first autumnal moult has the sides of the head feathered behind the eye, and beneath to the base of the lower mandible; the curved secondaries and their coverts are tapering and elongated, but not nearly so much developed as in the old birds. The skin of the head is red; the bill brownish-black, as are the feet. Chin and sides of the head greyish-white. The plumage generally is bluish-grey, but the feathers are largely tipped and margined with yellowish-brown; the primary quills and their coverts dark brown towards the end; but with brownish-white shafts; the abdomen pure greyish-blue.

As the bird advances in age, the yellowish-brown disappears, and the general colour of the plumage becomes pure bluish-grey, which ultimately changes to white.

The trachea, which is 13 inches long to its entrance between the crura of the furcula, passes into a cavity in the sternum, where it curves so as to describe two-thirds of a circle, returns on the right side, and enters the thorax by curving backwards. The cavity in the sternum is 2 inches long, with an equal depth, and a breadth of 3/4 inch. The ridge of the keel is at its fore part 3/4 in breadth, and contracts to 1/2 inch at its junction with the angle of the furcula, which is continuous with it. The gizzard is of moderate size; the intestine, which is thin and small, measures 5 feet in length. Boston specimen.

THE PINTAIL DUCK.

Anus acuta, Linn.
PLATE CCXXVII. Male and Female.

The first observation that I made on arriving at Labrador, was that no species of Ducks, excepting those which were entirely or chiefly oceanic, seemed to resort to that coast, and I left the country with the same impression. We saw no Mallards, Teals, Widgeons, or Wood Ducks there; nor any species of Merganser, excepting the Red-breasted, which is a marine bird. The Pintail Duck, then, was not seen in the parts of that country which I visited; nor was it known in Newfoundland, on the Magdeleine Islands, or in the British province of Nova Scotia, at least along its Atlantic boundaries. In Kentucky and the whole of the Western Country, where it is extremely abundant in early autumn, during winter, and up to a very advanced period in spring, you meet with it wherever its usual food is found. It follows the waters of the Mississippi to New Orleans, is seen westward in the prairies of Oppelousas, and extends to the eastward as far as Massachusetts, beyond which, like the Mallard, it is very seldom seen. Indeed, this species is at all times rare on the sea coast of America, and must therefore be considered as an inland bird.

The Pintail, which, in the United States, is better known by the name of Sprigtail, arrives on the western waters early in October, sometimes even about the middle of September, the period of its arrival depending on the state of the weather, or the appearance of other species, with which it keeps company. Their plumage is in fine condition when they arrive; their tail-feathers are then as long as at any other period, and the whole apparel of the adult birds is as perfect as in the breeding season.

On the water, few birds exhibit more graceful motions than the Pintail Duck. Its delicately slender neck, the beautiful form of its body, and its pointed tail, which it always carries highly raised, distinguish it from the other species with which it may associate. There seems also a kind of natural modesty in it which you do not find in other ducks, and its notes, which are often heard, are soft and pleasant. That these notes should ever have been compared to those of the Mallard, appears to me very strange;—so strange that I am tempted to believe that they who say so must have mistaken Mallards for Pintails.

Whilst with us, the Pintail is found in company with the Baldpate or American Widgeon, the Blue-winged Teal, and the Mallard, more frequently on ponds than on streams, although it sometimes resorts to the latter, when their shores are overhung with beech-trees loaded with their nutritious fruits, of which this species is extremely fond, and in search of which they even ramble to a short distance into the woods. Were this duck to feed entirely on beech-nuts, I have no doubt that its flesh would be excellent. It feeds on tadpoles in spring, and leeches in autumn, while, during winter, a dead mouse, should it come in its way, is swallowed with as much avidity as by a Mallard. To these articles of food it adds insects of all kinds, and, in fact, it is by no means an inexpert fly-catcher.

The Pintails are less shy in the Western Country than most species of their family, and in this respect they resemble the Blue-winged Teals, which in fact might be called stupid birds with as much propriety as many others. They swim rather deeply, keep close together, and raise the hind part of the body like the Mallards; and on the water, on land, or on the wing, several may generally be killed at a shot. A friend of mine killed nineteen with two shots of his double-barrelled gun. They are scarcely nocturnal, but rest much in the middle of the day, basking in the sunshine whilst on the water, whenever they can indulge in this luxury. While on ponds, they feed along the most shallow parts, or by the edges; and if you take my advice, you will never shoot at them while their heads are at the bottom, and their feet kicking above water. I have several times, for diversion, done so, but in no instance did I damage a single individual. But when they raise their heads, you may commit great havock among them.