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Australian Wildlife

  Northern Pintail (Anas acuta)





Northern Pintail | Anas acuta photo
Northern Pintails, Male & Female

Image by J.M.Garg - Some rights reserved.    (view image details)

Northern Pintail | Anas acuta photo
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta)

Image by J.M.Garg - Some rights reserved.    (view image details)

Northern Pintail | Anas acuta photo
Northern Pintail (Male)

Image by J.M.Garg - Some rights reserved.    (view image details)







NORTHERN PINTAIL FACTS

Description
The Northern Pintail is a fairly large duck - the male is larger than female. In breeding plumage the male has rich brown head with white stripe down the back of the head merging with white breast. The back and wings are grey. The female has greyish brown head and is mottled light brown with scalloped pattern. Often forms large flocks with other duck species. The non-breeding male is similar to the female.

Size
60cm - 75cm (male); 50cm - 64cm (female)

Habitat
wetlands, wet grassland, lake sides, marsh land, estuaries, tundra.

Food
feeds on plant matter and small invertebrates

Breeding
The nest is on the ground, hidden amongst vegetation, often away from water. Lays seven to nine cream coloured eggs.

Range
The Northern Pintail breeds in northern parts of Europe, Asia and North America, and migrates south to the equator in winter. It is a rare visitor to Australia with 18 occurrence records between 2000 and 2010 according to Atlas of living Australia (http://bie.ala.org.au)

distribution map showing range of Anas acuta in Australia

Credits:
Map is from Atlas of Living Australia website at https://biocache.ala.org.au licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.



Classification
Class:Aves
Order:Anseriformes
Family:Anatidae
Genus:Anas
Species:acuta
Common Name:Northern Pintail

Relatives in same Genus
  Chestnut Teal (A. castanea)
  Northern Shoveler (A. clypeata)
  Grey Teal (A. gracilis)
  Mallard (A. platyrhynchos)
  Garganey (A. querquedula)
  Australasian Shoveler (A. rhynchotis)
  Pacific Black Duck (A. superciliosa)