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| - | ;Anas acuta | + | [[Image:Northern_Pintail.jpg|thumb|550px|right|Male<br /> Photo by {{user|dahyon|dahyon}}]] |
| - | [[Image:Northern_Pintail.jpg|thumb|550px|right|Photo by dahyon]] | + | ;[[:Category:Anas|Anas]] acuta |
| | ==Identification== | | ==Identification== |
| - | Northern Pintail | + | 65 to 75 cm in length, while females are smaller at 50 to 55 cm. |
| - | Anas acuta | + | *Pale grey bill with black stripe down centre |
| - | | + | *Dark brown head |
| - | Length: 18.5 inches Wingspan: 35 inches | + | *White neck, breast and belly |
| - | Medium-sized dabbling duck with very long neck, small head and attenuated rear | + | *White finger extending up back of neck to rear part of face |
| - | Juvenile similar to adult female | + | *Grey flanks and back with black centres to back feathers |
| - | Adult male alternate: | + | *Whitish patch at rear portion of flanks bordering undertail coverts |
| - | | + | *Black undertail coverts |
| - | Alternate plumage worn from fall through early summer | + | *Long, black central tail feathers |
| - | Pale gray bill with black stripe down center | + | *Green speculum |
| - | Dark brown head | + | **White rear border and chestnut forward border |
| - | White neck, breast and belly with white finger extending up back of neck to rear part of face | + | *Although female may look like female [[Mallard]], you can tell the difference by the missing teal section in the back of the bird. |
| - | Gray flanks and back with black centers to back feathers | + | |
| - | Whitish patch at rear portion of flanks bordering undertail coverts | + | |
| - | Black undertail coverts | + | |
| - | Long, black central tail feathers | + | |
| - | Green speculum with white rear border and chestnut forward border | + | |
| - | Adult male basic: | + | |
| - | | + | |
| - | Similar to adult female but retains green speculum | + | |
| - | Adult female: | + | |
| - | | + | |
| - | Gray bill | + | |
| - | Tan head and neck | + | |
| - | Mottled tan and dark brown back and body plumage, paler on belly | + | |
| - | Brown speculum with white rear border | + | |
| - | Similar species: | + | |
| - | Adult male unmistakable in alternate plumage. Females, immature and eclipse-plumage males are similar to many other female ducks but have a distinctive shape: very long-necked, small-headed and pointed-tailed. Note also female's brown speculum bordered at the rear by white. | + | |
| - | | + | |
| - | The breeding male is unmistakable. It has a pale grey body, white breast and lateral neck stripe, and dark brown head. The vent region is buff and black, and it has the long pointed tail that gives the species its English and scientific names. The females are light brown with a whiter throat, and their pointed tail is shorter, but they are easily identified by their shape, long neck, and long all grey bill. In non-breeding (eclipse) plumage, the drake Pintail looks more like the female. The species is fairly large for a duck, but is light for its size; males range from 65 to 75 cm in length, while females are smaller at 50 to 55 cm. | + | |
| - | | + | |
| | | | |
| | ==Distribution== | | ==Distribution== |
| - | Widespread and common summer visitor to northern regions breeding in Iceland and Scandinavia and east across northern Russia to Sakhalin, Kamchatka and northern China. In North America breeds throughout Alaska and much of western and central Canada and in the central and western USA. Small populations persist outside main range in the British Isles and in Denmark, Germany and Anatolia, Turkey. Very small numbers breed in Britain, the majority in north and west Scotland but occasional pairs nest in southern England. | + | [[Iceland]], Northern [[Europe]], [[Russia]], [[China]], [[North America]], and [[Canada]]. |
| - | Present on breeding grounds April-September. Much more widespread in winter | + | Common on most lakes. |
| - | and found in mainly coastal areas from the British Isles to the Mediterranean, the Middle East and southern Asia. North American breeders winter from British Columbia and North Carolina south to Central America. | + | |
| - | Recorded as a vagrant on Madeira and the Azores. | + | |
| | ==Taxonomy== | | ==Taxonomy== |
| - | Isolated southern populations of pintails from Kerguelen (eatoni) and the Crozet Islands (drygalskii) are treated either as subspecies on Northern Pintail or as full species. | + | Isolated southern populations of pintails from Kerguelen (''eatoni'') and the Crozet Islands (''drygalskii'') are treated either as subspecies of Northern Pintail or as full species. |
| | ==Habitat== | | ==Habitat== |
| - | Breeds on freshwaters including flooded meadows, well-vegetated lakes or slow-flowing rivers. Winters on larger, more open waters, often reservoirs and gravel-pits, estuaries and marshes. | + | Breeds on freshwaters including flooded meadows, well-vegetated lakes or slow-flowing rivers. |
| | ==Behaviour== | | ==Behaviour== |
| - | It feeds by dabbling for plant food mainly in the evening or at night. During the nesting season, this bird also eats aquatic insects, mollusks and crustaceans. It sometimes feeds on grasses and seeds in fields. The nest is a shallow scrape on the ground lined with plant material and down, in a dry location that may be fairly far from water. | + | ====Diet==== |
| - | | + | It feeds by dabbling for plant food mainly in the evening or at night. Diet includes aquatic insects, mollusks and crustaceans as well as grasses and seeds in fields. |
| - | Courtship often includes aerial pursuit of a single female by several males. | + | ====Breeding==== |
| - | | + | The nest is a shallow scrape on the ground lined with plant material and down, in a dry location that may be fairly far from water. |
| - | The male has a Teal-like whistle, whereas the female has a Mallard-like quack. | + | ====Vocalisation==== |
| - | | + | |
| - | | + | |
| - | ==Bird Song== | + | |
| | <flashmp3>Anas acuta (song).mp3</flashmp3><br /> | | <flashmp3>Anas acuta (song).mp3</flashmp3><br /> |
| | ''[[Media:Anas acuta (song).mp3|Listen in an external program]]'' | | ''[[Media:Anas acuta (song).mp3|Listen in an external program]]'' |
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| | {{GSearch|Anas+acuta}} | | {{GSearch|Anas+acuta}} |
| | *[http://www.orientalbirdimages.org/birdimages.php?action=birdspecies&Bird_ID=177&Bird_Image_ID=914&Bird_Family_ID=65 View more images of this species on Orientalbirdimages] | | *[http://www.orientalbirdimages.org/birdimages.php?action=birdspecies&Bird_ID=177&Bird_Image_ID=914&Bird_Family_ID=65 View more images of this species on Orientalbirdimages] |
| - | [[Category:Birds]] | + | [[Category:Birds]][[Category:Anas]][[Category:Bird Songs]] |
65 to 75 cm in length, while females are smaller at 50 to 55 cm.
Breeds on freshwaters including flooded meadows, well-vegetated lakes or slow-flowing rivers.
It feeds by dabbling for plant food mainly in the evening or at night. Diet includes aquatic insects, mollusks and crustaceans as well as grasses and seeds in fields.
The nest is a shallow scrape on the ground lined with plant material and down, in a dry location that may be fairly far from water.
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