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Northern Pintail
Photos by Bruce
Dayton
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ORDER:
Anseriformes
FAMILY: Anatidae (Ducks and Geese - 52 Species)
SUB-FAMILY:
Anatinae
SPECIES:
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta)
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Northern Pintail |
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The Northern Pintail is a common and wide spread member of the Anatidae family of ducks and geese. The name Pintail comes from the long pin type tail (see picture in flight below). Surveys have recorded significant, long-term declines since the 1960s, most likely due to destruction of nesting habitat by predators and farming practices. Due to conservation practices, the Pintail should now be able to maintain a healthy population in North America. |
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SIZE |
The Northern Pintail is a fairly large (20 to 28") dabbling duck. |
| DESCRIPTION |
The breeding male is unmistakable with its brown head, white breast and long thin white neck and lateral neck stripe. It has a gray bill, pale gray body, gray legs and a long pointed tail. Wings are gray with glossy green speculum bordered above with chestnut-brown and below with white. The
female is overall mottled brown with a dark brown
speculum
with
white border. They have gray wings and a dark gray bill. The female's
pointed tail is shorter than the male. |
| NESTING | Clutch size ranges from 6 to 10 eggs, which are incubated in 20-25 days. The nest is usually a shallow depression located on dry ground in short vegetation, near a body of water. The nest, built by the female is made of grass, or leaves, lined with down. |
| RANGE | They breed in the northern areas of Europe and Asia and across most of Canada, Alaska and the mid-western United States. |
| HABITAT | They habitat marshes, ponds, lakes, and saltwater bays. |
| DIET | It feeds by dabbling for plant food mainly in the evening or at night. They also eat aquatic insects, mollusks and crustaceans. |
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| Northern Pintail | |
| Montezuma
National Wildlife Refuge Seneca County, New York |
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| NtPt_071A_022759 | |
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| NtPt_071A_007249 | |
| Stewart
Park - Tompkins County Ithaca, New York |
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| NtPt_071A_211095 | NtPt_071A_211103 |
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| Northern
Pintail Drawing by Louis Agassiz Fuertes |
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| INTERESTING FACTS |
| Amphibians |
| A cold-blooded, smooth-skinned vertebrate, such as a frog or salamander, that hatches as an aquatic larva with gills, then transforms into an adult having air-breathing lungs that can live on land. |
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Please email with any ideas or comments concerning this web page. |
| The images on this web page are copyrighted © 2003 - 2007 by Bruce Dayton. I want to share my photos to promote conservation and to help people identify and learn about the birds and other creatures that live with us on the North American continent. Please do not use any of my work in any non-profit or for-profit project without first getting written permission from me. You can ask for permission by emailing me at webmaster@wildlifeofnorthamerica.info. All reproductions must bear an appropriate credit. |
NOTE: This site will be updated as time and pictures become available.
Visit Mammals of North America
Northern Pintail ( Anas acuta )
Updated 10-20-2008
