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Northern Pintail Anas acuta
(aka Common Pintail) |
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Northern Pintail breed in the northern parts of North America, Europe and Asia and winter further south but
rarely, if ever, crossing the Equator. There are small numbers of breeders in western Europe including Britain and the Netherlands.
Photos 1 and 2 were taken in the Netherlands, photo 3 in Crete and photos 4 and 5 in the Yukon, Canada. |
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They feed on seed, tubers and aquatic plants and include insects, small fish and amphibians in their diet during
spring and summer. They feed on both land and water and show a strong preference for shallow, open areas of water. They are dabbling ducks and their
long necks may be an adaptation to give an advantage over other dabbling ducks. |
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In flight, the male, seen at the top of the 3rd photo
shows the blackish-green speculum running the length of the secondaries and bordered in front by
a bronze strip and, to the rear, by a white strip. The female at the bottom of the photo shows a dark brown speculum bordered by pale brown at the
front and a conspicuous white strip to the rear. The bird in the middle is, I suspect, an eclipse male since it shows the male colouring on the
speculum but does not show male plumage around the head. |
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There is a distribution map for the Americas from NatureServe and additional
information available via Avibase. |
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