[Call and trill-whistle of the Northern Pintail] What’s going on with Northern Pintails? Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) Anas acuta. Pintails are wary at all seasons, and become very secretive during the flightless stage of their molt in late summer. In other regions, populations are stable or fluctuating. Your support helps secure a future for birds at risk. Sexual dimorphism is much less marked in the southern pintails, with the male's breeding appearance being similar to the female plumage. The majority of these birds winter in the Central Valley of California, but some continue south to the west coast of Mexico. [8] Its long neck enables it to take food items from the bottom of water bodies up to 30 cm (12 in) deep, which are beyond the reach of other dabbling ducks like the mallard. Northern pintails have the widest distribution of any waterfowl species world-wide and are also found in Europe, the Middle East, India, and Asia. They spend winters in coastal wetlands as well as inland waters, and can be seen on the Chesapeake Bay in winter. Storms often precede cold fronts, which cause migrants to hunker down until the poor weather passes, often resulting in an awe-inspiring migratory movement known as a “fall-out.” Tracking Pintail Migration By Todd Peterson This is BirdNote! Thirty years ago, there were six million of these slender, elegant ducks throughout North America. Both sexes have blue-grey bills and grey legs and feet. In flight, the male shows a black speculum bordered white at the rear and pale rufous at the front, whereas the female's speculum is dark brown bordered with white, narrowly at the front edge but very prominently at the rear, being visible at a distance of 1,600 m (0.99 mi). VII, "Phylogeny and biogeography of dabbling ducks (genus, "The evolution of postcopulatory displays in dabbling ducks (Anatini): a phylogenetic perspective", "A phylogenetic analysis and classification of recent dabbling ducks (Tribe Anatini) based on comparative morphology", "Occurrence of Cryptosporidium and Giardia in Wild Ducks along the Rio Grande River Valley in Southern New Mexico", "Disease emergence in birds: Challenges for the twenty-first century", 10.1642/0004-8038(2001)118[0290:DEIBCF]2.0.CO;2, "Avian influenza tests complete on wild northern pintail ducks in Montana", "U.S. Summers in wide variety of open habitats, including prairies, farmland, northern tundra, near bodies of water. In 1997, an estimated 1.5 million water birds, the majority being northern pintails, died from avian botulism during two outbreaks in Canada and Utah. The first settlers at Jamestown and Plymouth had barely established a foothold in the early 1600s when they began to push into the continent’s interior. If there is a group of males, they will chase the female in flight until only one drake is left. Photo: Judi Dressler/Audubon Photography Awards . Audubon’s scientists have used 140 million bird observations and sophisticated climate models to project how climate change will affect this bird’s range in the future. [22], The northern pintail is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies,[36] but it has no special status under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which regulates international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants. Food Selection and Storage. [11], Breeding takes place between April and June, with the nest being constructed on the ground and hidden amongst vegetation in a dry location, often some distance from water. The Pintail has a unique longer neck than the Mallard allowing it to reach depths of 12 inches deep. Unusually for a bird with such a large range, it has no geographical subspecies if the possibly conspecific duck Eaton's pintail is considered to be a separate species. Male has brown head, white underparts and neck with white line extending onto side of head, grayish back and sides, and long, black, pointed central tail feathers. The northern pintail is a fairly large duck with a wing chord of 23.6–28.2 cm (9.3–11.1 in) and wingspan of 80–95 cm (31–37 in). [26], This species' preferred habitat of shallow water is naturally susceptible to problems such as drought or the encroachment of vegetation, but this duck's habitat might be increasingly threatened by climate change. More animal matter in summer, mainly insects, mollusks, crustaceans; sometimes tadpoles, small fish. 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. The Northern pintail occurs across a very large range in North America, breeding all the way north to Alaska and Canada in the summer and migrating as far south as South America in the winter (NatureServe 2019). The adults can take flight to escape terrestrial predators, but nesting females in particular may be surprised by large carnivores such as bobcats. These eager breeders head to the prairie pothole region of the Great Plains, as well as Canada, and Alaska to nest as soon as the ice breaks up. Elegant Northern Pintails swim through wetlands and lakes with their slender necks and long, pointed tails held high. It is often the dominant species in major mortality events from avian botulism and avian cholera,[22] and can also contract avian influenza, the H5N1 strain of which is highly pathogenic and occasionally infects humans. Preferred Habitat: Marshy ponds and lakes. [17], It is susceptible to a range of parasites including Cryptosporidium, Giardia, tapeworms, blood parasites and external feather lice,[18][19][20][21] and is also affected by other avian diseases. Northern Pintail. It is highly gregarious when not breeding, forming large mixed flocks with other species of duck. The hen alone incubates the eggs for 22 to 24 days before they hatch. Nest (built by female) a shallow depression lined with grasses, twigs, leaves, with addition of down. Widespread and abundant, but many surveys have suggested a significant decline since the 1960s. 2021 is off to another good start. The northward migration begins early in the spring, from late February to mid-May, peaking in March and early April. 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