Duck-like Birds
Northern Pintail
Anas acuta
Description Male, 25-29" (64-74 cm); female,
21-23" (53-58 cm). Long-necked slender duck. Male has brown head,
white underparts and neck with white line extending onto side of
head, grayish back and sides, and long, black, pointed central tail
feathers. Speculum metallic brown and green with white rear border
that shows in flight. Feet gray. Female mottled brown, similar to
female Mallard, but paler, grayer, and more slender, with brown
speculum bordered with white at rear edge only; tail is more pointed
than in female Mallard.
Voice
Distinctive 2-tone whistle; females
quack.
Habitat
Marshes, prairie ponds, and tundra;
sometimes salt marshes in winter.
Nesting
6-9 pale greenish-buff eggs in a shallow
bowl of grass lined with down, often some distance from
water.
Range
Breeds from Alaska and Labrador south to
California, Nebraska, and Maine. Locally in East and occasionally
elsewhere. Winters south to Central America and West Indies. Also in
Eurasia.
Discussion
Although not as numerous as the
Mallard, this graceful game bird is still a widespread and common
duck, especially in the West, where about half of North America's
six million are found. Winter flocks can be very large, numbering in
the thousands. Seeds of aquatic plants are the Pintail's main food,
but in winter it also eats small aquatic animals; when freshwater
habitats freeze over, it resorts to tidal flats, where it feeds on
snails and small crabs. Male Northern Pintails are aggressive, often
forcing their attentions on females of other
species.
Duck-like Birds