Northern Pintail

Anas acuta

Dressed to impress their more subtle coloured female counterparts, male Northern Pintails have a graceful appearance with their long necks, well-defined colours, and name-sake tails, that stands out among ducks.

Habitat 

Northern Pintails can be found across North America, Europe, and Asia. In North America, you can find them in summer in marshes across Canada, and parts of the north-central United States. Winter takes them to the southern United States, Mexico, and parts of Central America and the Caribbean.

Food 

Worms, snails, crustaceans, and aquatic insects, are all foods of the Northern Pintail. They will also eat the seeds of aquatic plants, and crop grains, such as rice, wheat, corn, and barley.

Behaviour  

Pairs form over winter after a courtship involving neck stretches, head bobbing, preening, whistling, and clucking. Once they head north, a nest site will be chosen in an area with short plants: seasonal wetlands, grasslands, even tilled crop fields, sometimes quite far from water. The female builds a nest on the ground, laying 3 to 12 eggs. The male leaves to join other males for moulting, a changing of feathers. After hatching, she will lead the ducklings to the nearest water. Come fall, they will congregate and fly south in groups.

Conservation  

Northern Pintails are common, but their numbers have declined. Loss of wetlands, grassland cultivation, and agricultural practices that affect nesting, are all factors in their decline.

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