|
Pintail Anas
acuta
(aka Northern / Common Pintail) |
 |
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. |
 |
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. |
 |
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. |
 |
There
is a distribution map for the Americas from NatureServe and additional information
available via Avibase. |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
