Northern Pintail
A species of Anas, Also known as Pintail Duck, Sprig Scientific name : Anas acuta Genus : Anas
Northern Pintail, A species of Anas
Also known as:
Pintail Duck, Sprig
Botanical name: Anas acuta
Genus: Anas
Content
Description People often ask General Info
Photo By Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren , used under CC-BY-2.0 /Cropped and compressed from original 
Description
The northern Pintail is often referred to as an elegant duck due to its slender neck and tail. The duck is most often found in wetlands but will travel to agricultural fields. The duck has a global range and typically migrates at night, when the bird can cover great distances.
Size
51 - 66 cm
Life Expectancy
27 years
Nest Placement
Ground
Clutch Size
3 - 12 eggs
Incubation Period
1 brood
Number of Broods
22 - 24 days
Feeding Habits
Northern Pintail predominantly consumes aquatic plant seeds, grains like rice and wheat, worms, snails, crustaceans, and insects. They feed through dabbling and upending in shallow waters, mainly in the evening or at night. Their diet shifts to more invertebrates during nesting season.
Habitat
Northern Pintail primarily inhabits open unwooded wetlands, including wet grasslands, lakesides, tundra during the breeding season, and seasonal wetlands with short vegetation. They prefer open spaces with minimal tree cover. Altitude is not a restrictive factor, allowing them to adapt from sea level to alpine regions. In nonbreeding periods, northern Pintail occupy a broader range of habitats—flooded and dry agricultural lands, estuaries, saltmarshes, freshwater, brackish wetlands, and bays. They show diurnal habitat segregation in areas like California's Central Valley, foraging in wetlands by day and in flooded rice fields at night.
Nest Behavior
Northern Pintail prefers ground nesting, starting with several scrapes, choosing the final one to construct the nest during egg-laying. Eggs are laid sequentially as the nest is built, indicating synchronized nesting and construction behavior.
Nest Characteristics
Northern Pintail's nest is a ground depression in short vegetation areas like grasslands, croplands, or wet meadows. It measures 7–10 inches wide and 2–4 inches deep, lined with grasses and down feathers.
Dite type
Omnivorous
People often ask
General Info
Sounds
Call
Recording location: Belgium
Call
Recording location: Belgium
Call
Recording location: Belgium
Behavior
Northern Pintail exhibit a balance of grace and agility, navigating their habitat with ease both on land and within the water. They engage in a variety of daily activities such as waddling in fields or swimming with an elegantly upwards-pointed tail. Known for their sociable nature, northern Pintail typically avoid conflict with conspecifics. Unique interactions include non-violent bill jabbing and head-lowering pursuits during male rivalries, and chin lifting as a form of greeting or threat response. Pair formation is a seasonal affair, often occurring on winter grounds with breeding bonds dissolving post-season. Courtship involves intricate displays of neck-stretching and bill-tipping accompanied by distinctive whistle calls. Prior to migration, males desert their mates to form male-only groups, the species traveling in conspicuous lines indicative of their collaborative nature.
Distribution Area
This dabbling duck breeds across northern areas of the Palearctic south to about Poland and Mongolia, and in Canada, Alaska and the Midwestern United States. Mainly in winters south of its breeding range, reaches almost to the equator in Panama, northern sub-Saharan Africa and tropical South Asia. Small numbers migrate to Pacific islands, particularly Hawaii, where a few hundred birds winter on the main islands in shallow wetlands and flooded agricultural habitats. 
Species Status
Not globally threatened.
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