PINTAIL.
A N A S ACUTA, Linn.
Anas acuta, Linn. S. N. i. p. 202 (1766); Naum. xi. p. 638 ;
Hewitson, ii. p. 403.
Querquedula acuta, Macg. v. p. 65.
Dafila acuta, Yarr. ed. 4, iv. p. 380; Dresser, vi. p. 531.
Pilet, French; Spiess-Ente, Spitz-Ente, German; Pato
rabudo, Pato careto, Spanish.
This handsome Duck is a regular, but not a very
abundant, autumnal visitor to our islands; its numbers,
however, vary considerably in various years, and it
appears to be more common now in many parts of
England than was formerly the case. I have seen more
Pintails in a certain locality in the centre of Ireland
than anywhere else in British dominions, and have been
assured by the owner that a few of these birds breed
regularly in the district to which I refer. I am not
personally acquainted with any other instance of their
nesting in the United Kingdom.
The principal breeding-haunts of this species are in
the far north of Europe and America, and as it is exceedingly
abundant during the winter in many parts of the
Mediterranean coasts, I imagine that the chief lines of
its migration must lie to the eastward of our country.
Anas acuta, Linn.