Anas acuta

A large (26-30 inches) duck, the male Northern Pintail is most easily identified by its gray back and flanks, white neck, dark brown head, and long, pin-like tail. Female Northern Pintails are mottled tan overall, with slightly shorter tails and bills. Males are almost unmistakable in their range and habitat, while females may be distinguished from other tan female ducks by their longer necks. The Northern Pintail inhabits much of the Northern Hemisphere. In the New World, this species breeds in Alaska, Canada, and the northern United States, wintering from western Canada and the southern half of the United States south to Central American and the West Indies. In the Old World, this species breeds from Iceland and Scandinavia east to Siberia, wintering in Europe, North and East Africa, South Asia, and several islands in the western Pacific Ocean. Northern Pintails breed in shallow marshes, ponds, and lakes, primarily those surrounded by prairie or tundra. During the winter, this species may be found in freshwater or saltwater wetland habitats, including lakes, marshes, and estuaries. Northern Pintails eat a variety of plant and animal foods, including seeds, aquatic plants, insects, and other small invertebrates. Northern Pintails may be seen swimming on small to medium-sized bodies of water, where they may be observed foraging for food. This species may also be observed taking off straight up from the water or undertaking straight, swift flights on migration or between breeding or foraging grounds. Northern Pintails are most active during the day.

Threat Status: Least concern

Het mannetje heeft een langere staart dan het vrouwtje.

Global Range: (>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)) BREEDING: Holarctic. In North America, from tundra of Alaska, Canada, western Greenland, to western and central U.S.; also in Old World. NON-BREEDING: in Western Hemisphere, from eastern and southeastern (coastal) U.S., Great Lakes, southeastern Alaska southwestern British Columbia, western and southwestern U.S. south to northern Colombia and Venezuela, rarely to Surinam, including Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Hawaii; and Old World. In the U.S. the highest winter densities occur in northern Utah (Bear River refuge) and western Texas (Muleshoe refuge) (Root 1988).

Northern Pintail, also called sprig, are found throughout the world. During the summer they are found mainly in the Northern Hemisphere as far south as Poland and Mongolia in Eurasia and California in North America. In the winter, they migrate to the Southern Hemisphere, including parts of Africa and all of Mexico. Some Pintail even fly all the way to Hawaii to spend the winter.

(Gooders, Boyer 1986)

Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native ); palearctic (Native ); oceanic islands (Native )

Northern Pintail, also called sprig, are found throughout the world. During the summer they are found mainly in the Northern Hemisphere as far south as Poland and Mongolia in Eurasia and California in North America. In the winter, they migrate to the Southern Hemisphere, including parts of Africa and all of Mexico. Some Pintail even fly all the way to Hawaii to spend the winter.

(Gooders, Boyer 1986)

Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native ); palearctic (Native ); oceanic islands (Native )

Palearctic and N America; winters to s Eurasia and n S America.

The northern pintail has one of the most extensive breeding ranges of
any North American duck [14]. Its breeding range extends from northern
Alaska across northern Canada to northern and eastern Quebec, New
Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, and from from California across the Great
Lakes region to St. Lawrence River, Maine [3,10]. The northern pintail
also breeds in Greenland, Iceland, Europe, Asia, and in the Kerguelen
and Corozet Islands [10]. These ducks winter from southern Alaska south
to northern New Mexico and east to central Missouri and the Ohio Valley,
and along the Atlantic from Massachusetts south throughout the southern
United States to South America [3,10,13].

Gulf of Maine, Gulf of Mexico, New Zealand Exclusive Economic Zone, North West Atlantic, Polish Exclusive Economic Zone, Portuguese Exclusive Economic Zone, Spanish Exclusive Economic Zone, Swedish Exclusive Economic Zone, United Kingdom Exclusive Economic Zone, Wimereux

AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE FL GA ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY DC

AB BC MB NB NF NT NS ON PE PQ SK YT

MEXICO

North America Range extends from Labrador to the Gulf of Mexico

occurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations

Canada

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

United States

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

Asia and Europe. Canada and most of interior United States. In eastern U. S. distributed mostly along the coast.

The adult male Northern Pintail is between 23 to 30 inches (58.5 to 76 centimeters) in length and weighs 1 to 3 pounds (454 to 1362 Grams). Adult females measure 20 to 25 inches (51 to 63.5 centimeters) and weighs 1 to 2.5 pounds (454 to 1135 g). Males have a dark brown head and white breast with a white streak extending up the side of its head. From their back extending down and around their bellies, they have black and white speckled feathers with a yellow patch of feathers just above and behind their feet. Males also have a long, thin tail feather that can measure as much as 10 centimeters (4 inches) long. This feather narrows down to a sharp point and is where they get their name. The female has more of a drab, gray color to her feathers to help camouflage her as she sits on her nest, and her pin tail feather is only about one-quarter the length of the males.

These ducks have bluish-gray bills and they have longer necks than most other dabbling ducks, which makes them superb at feeding in deeper water.

Immature pintails measure from 53 to 68.5 centimeters (21 to 27 inches) and weigh 1 to 3 pounds (454 to 1362 g). Their feathers have more of a buff color to them; their bills are dark; and their heads range in color from dark brown to tan, while their bellies are speckled white and brown. Their tail feathers are dark, with cream colored edges and their feet are grayish green.

(Gooders, Boyer 1986; Soothill, Whitehead 1988; Bellrose 1980)

Range mass: 454 to 1362 g.

Range wingspan: 236 to 282 mm.

Length: 66 cm

Weight: 1035 grams

Length: 52.5 cm., Wingspan: 85 cm.

Pintail are found in marshes, ponds, lakes, rivers, canals, and grain fields, such as rice, oats, wheat, and barley.

(Palmer 1976)

Habitat Regions: temperate ; terrestrial

Terrestrial Biomes: forest

Aquatic Biomes: lakes and ponds; rivers and streams

Wetlands: marsh

Other Habitat Features: agricultural ; riparian

Northern pintails commonly inhabit wetland communities dominated by
cattail (Typha spp.), bulrush (Scirpus spp.), whitetop (Scolochloa
festucacea), and other emergent and aquatic vegetation [1,5]. Nests of
these ducks are often found in extensive stands of whitetop, bluegrass
(Poa spp.), or hardstem bulrushes (Scirpus acutus); juncus (Juncus spp.)
beds; mixed prairie grasses; and burned weed areas. Northern pintails
nest in farmland habitats more than other species of waterfowl do.
Stubble fields, roadsides, hayfields, pastures, field edges, and fields
of growing grain are often chosen as nest sites [1].

REFERENCES :
NO-ENTRY

More info on this topic.

This species is known to occur in the following ecosystem types (as named by the U.S. Forest Service in their Forest and Range Ecosystem [FRES] Type classification):

FRES11 Spruce-fir
FRES14 Oak-pine
FRES15 Oak-hickory
FRES17 Elm-ash-cottonwood
FRES18 Maple-beech-birch
FRES19 Aspen-birch
FRES36 Mountain grasslands
FRES37 Mountain meadows
FRES38 Plains grasslands
FRES39 Prairie
FRES41 Wet grasslands
FRES42 Annual grasslands

marshes, ponds, lakes, rivers, canals, grain fields

Habitat and Ecology

Systems

• Terrestrial
• Freshwater
• Marine

Depth range based on 977 specimens in 1 taxon.
Water temperature and chemistry ranges based on 1 sample.

Environmental ranges
  Depth range (m): 0 - 0
  Temperature range (°C): 10.697 - 10.697
  Nitrate (umol/L): 6.485 - 6.485
  Salinity (PPS): 35.176 - 35.176
  Oxygen (ml/l): 6.197 - 6.197
  Phosphate (umol/l): 0.487 - 0.487
  Silicate (umol/l): 2.811 - 2.811
 
Note: this information has not been validated. Check this *note*. Your feedback is most welcome.

Comments: BREEDING: Lakes, rivers, marshes and ponds in grasslands, barrens, dry tundra, open boreal forest or cultivated fields. Most breeding associated with seasonal and semipermanent wetlands (Suchy and Anderson 1987). Often nests near freshwater lakes and ponds, but may nest some distance from water. Readily uses stock-watering ponds in North Dakota (Suchy and Anderson 1987); uses all sorts of man-made ponds in Quebec (Belanger and Couture 1989). May nest under cover of low vegetation or in open. Broods use emergent vegetation for escape cover. Nest is a depression lined with plant material and down. NON-BREEDING: In migration and winter in both fresh-water and brackish situations (AOU 1983); prefers shallow, open freshwater lagoons, marshes, and slough in Costa Rica (Stiles and Skutch 1989).

Marshes, prairies, ponds, lakes, and saltwater bays.

Non-Migrant: No. All populations of this species make significant seasonal migrations.

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make local extended movements (generally less than 200 km) at particular times of the year (e.g., to breeding or wintering grounds, to hibernation sites).

Locally Migrant: Yes. At least some populations of this species make annual migrations of over 200 km.

Moves northward January-March; arrives in nesting areas in northern U.S. and Canada by early April, northern Alaska mid- to late May. Many continue north to arctic wetlands drought reduces wetlands in prairie pothole region. Migrates south beginning in early August. Arrives in Costa Rica in late September or October, departs in January or February, depending on water levels (Stiles and Skutch 1989). Males may engage in extensive migration to molting areas while females incubate (Johnson and Herter 1989).

Migrates in flocks.

Pintail feed on grain fields, including rice, wheat, barley, and oats. They also feed on foods that naturally occur, such alkali and hardstem bulrush seeds, sago pondweeds, insects, cladocera, and widgeon grass.

(Bellrose 1980)

Animal Foods: insects; terrestrial non-insect arthropods

Plant Foods: leaves; seeds, grains, and nuts

Comments: Eats various plants and animals, depending on availability. Feeds on seeds and nutlets of aquatic plants (sedges, grasses, pondweeds, smartweeds); also eats mollusks, crabs, minnows, worms, fairy shrimp, and aquatic insects. Animal foods important to females during prelaying and laying periods. Diet of juveniles includes mostly insects (Suchy and Anderson 1987). Dabbles for food; may also feed on waste grain in fields and marine animals on tidal flats.

Seeds and insects. Also will consume, especially in summer, mollusks, crustaceans, tadpoles, and small fish.

People are the main predators of adult pintails, but they are also preyed upon by bobcats and coyotes. To avoid predation they take flight.

Farmers, during the process of working in their fields, destroy nests. Crows, magpies, gulls, skunks, ground squirrels, coyotes, foxes, badgers, and raccoons also destroy nests and eat the eggs.

(Bellrose 1980)

Known Predators:

• humans (Homo_sapiens)
• bobcats (Lynx_rufus)
• coyotes (Canis_latrans)
• crows (Corvus)
• magpies (Pica)
• gulls (Laridae)
• striped skunks (Mephitis_mephitis)
• ground squirrels (Spermophilus)
• red fox (Vulpes_vulpes)
• badgers (Taxidea_taxus)
• raccoons (Procyon_lotor)
• Eurasian badgers (Meles_meles)
• kit foxes (Vulpes_velox)
• skunks (Mephitidae)
• gray fox (Urocyon_cinereoargenteus)
• American badgers (Taxidea_taxus)

Northern pintails nest early and in more open sites than other species
of ducks and therefore may suffer greater nest loss from predation.
Predators of northern pintails include humans, crows (Corvus spp.),
skunks (Mephitis spp.), magpies (Pica spp.), gulls (Larus spp.), ground
squirrels (Spermophilus spp.), coyotes (Canis latrans), foxes (Vulpes
spp.), racoons (Procyon lotor), and badgers (Taxidea taxus) [1].

Anas acuta is prey of:
Laridae
Sciurinae
Pica
Corvus
Homo sapiens
Taxidea taxus
Procyon lotor
Lynx rufus
Canis latrans
Vulpes vulpes
Vulpes velox
Urocyon cinereoargenteus
Meles meles
Mephitinae

This list may not be complete but is based on published studies.

Anas acuta preys on:
non-insect arthropods

This list may not be complete but is based on published studies.

Nonbreeding: usually in groups or small flocks associated with teals or wigeon (Stiles and Skutch 1989). Female and brood may move among different ponds during first few weeks after hatching.

Around three-quarters of hatchlings live long enough to fledge, and not more than half of the remaining birds live to produce young of their own.

(Palmer 1976; Gooders, Boyer 1986)

Average lifespan
Status: wild: 267 months.

Maximum longevity: 27.4 years (wild) Observations: While animals reach maturity in their first year of life, most do not breed until later (http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/).

During courtship, the male, all the while whistling, will swim close to the female with his head down and tail up to impress the hen. If there is a group of males all courting the same female, the males will chase the female in flight. The males will lose track of her one by one, until only one male is left, and to his victory comes the opportunity to leave his legacy. Copulation takes place in the water and the female gets ready by laying her body close to the ground. The male then starts bobbing his head up and down. He then mounts the female and takes the feathers on the back of her head in his mouth. After he finishes, he lifts his head and back up and whistles. (Gooders & Boyer 1986; Soothill & Whitehead 1988; Palmer 1976)

Mating System: monogamous

Mating season is in early May, and if predators destroy the hen’s eggs, she can replace the clutch as late as the end of July, a process called double clutching. Pintail become sexually mature at 1 year old.  (Soothill, Whitehead 1988; Palmer 1976)

A Northern Pintail hen lays 7 to 9 cream colored eggs in May usually laying one egg per day, and the hen alone will incubate them for 22 to 24 days. After the chicks hatch, the hen will lead them to the nearest body of water where they will search for dead insects on the surface of the water. The chicks will attain flight in 46 to 47 days after hatching and the family will stay together until the hen re-grows the feathers needed to fly and she leaves her chicks.

(Soothill, Whitehead 1996; Gooders, Boyer 1986; Bellrose 1980)

Breeding season: Spring and summer

Range eggs per season: 7 to 9.

Range time to hatching: 22 to 24 days.

Range fledging age: 46 to 57 days.

Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 1 years.

Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 1 years.

Key Reproductive Features: seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)

Average eggs per season: 8.

Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)
Sex: male: 240 days.

Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)
Sex: female: 240 days.

Parental Investment: precocial ; female parental care

Clutch size usually 6-10 in older adults, 5-7 in yearlings. Adults nest earlier than do yearlings (Duncan 1987). Incubation 21-25 days, by female. Males abandon females early in incubation. Precocial nestlings tended by female, male usually present. Young fledge in about 6-7 weeks. Readily lays replacement clutch if first is lost. In Alaska, nutrient reserves were important in the formation of first clutches, more so than for any other duck species that has been studied (Esler and Grand, 1994, Condor 96:422-432). Northern Alaska: 0.3-1.5 nests per sq km in various locations; 1.0-1.8 nests per sq km in prairie pothole country (see Suchy and Anderson 1987).

Nest is built in short vegetation near water by the female. 6-10 eggs are incubated by the female for 21-25 days. Young feed themselves, and can fly after 38-52 days.

Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 16
Specimens with Barcodes: 22
Species With Barcodes: 1

Year Assessed

Assessor/s

Reviewer/s

Contributor/s

Justification

History

• 2008
  Least Concern
• 2004
  Least Concern

Regular passage visitor and winter visitor.

Canada

Rounded National Status Rank: N5B,N5N : N5B: Secure - Breeding, N5N: Secure - Nonbreeding

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: N5B,N5N : N5B: Secure - Breeding, N5N: Secure - Nonbreeding

Rounded Global Status Rank: G5 - Secure

Possible decline in population since the 1960?s, but no official conservation status.

Population

Major Threats

Comments: Loss of breeding habitat in the prairies may be sufficient to account for declines of upland-nesting prairie populations (Nudds and Cole 1991).

Northern pintail nests are especially vulnerable to farming operations
because pintails nest in stubble fields. A study of northern pintails
nesting on the Portage Plains, Manitoba, showed that farming operations
directly destroyed 57 percent of all northern pintail nests in 1956 and
41 percent of all nests in 1957. Losses were caused by cultivation,
disking, mowing, plowing, and harrowing [1].

During drought years, many northern pintails will migrate farther north
to breeding areas of the boreal forests and subarctic and arctic deltas
[1]. Arctic coastal plain wetlands with rich invertebrate food
resources and stable water levels are important for northern pintails
during years of drought in the prairie regions [20].

REFERENCES :
NO-ENTRY

Preserve Selection and Design Considerations: In North Dakota, few broods on ponds of less than 0.2 ha; broods tend to use semipermanent wetlands. Habitat suitability index model assumes that optimum conditions exist for pairs when a minimum of 150 optimum wetlands account for a minimum of 65 ha per 259-ha section in prairie pothole country; optimum conditions for broods when at least 20.2 ha of optimum wetlands are present on a 259-ha section and at least 6 optimum wetlands of at least 0.4 ha are present (Suchy and Anderson 1987).

Management Requirements: See Barker et al. (1990) for information on the effects of different livestock grazing systems on nesting success in North Dakota. See Marcy (1986) for specifications for the construction and placement of wire nest baskets.

Northern Pintail are one of the most sought after ducks by duck hunters throughout their habitat. During duck season, hunters spend lots of money on hunting licenses, sporting goods and travel arrangements to towns that live near the migration flyways, and add a considerable amount of revenue to towns’ economy.

Positive Impacts: food