Is the northern pintail endangered?

What is a northern pintail?

The northern pintail is a bird of open wetlands which nests on the ground, often some distance from water.

What happened to the northern pintail bird?

They migrate in groups, forming long, wavy lines. Northern Pintails are common, but their populations declined by 2.4% per year between 1966 and 2015, resulting in a cumulative decline of 70% over the 49-year period according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey.

Where do pintail birds live in the US?

Taxon: Anseriformes, Anatidae Range: Northern pintail typically breed in the Prairie Pothole Region of the north-central United States, central Canada, and Alaska. They spend their winters in the southern United States and Mexico, especially along the Texas and Louisiana coasts of the Gulf of Mexico.

What does a pintail bird look like?

Classification: Bird. Description. The pintail, also called the northern pintail, is a fast and graceful flyer that can be recognized by its long, thin neck and slim body. During the breeding season, the male ducks have a brown head, a black bill, and a white chest and neck. The white coloration extends as a thin line to the back of the neck.

What does a northern pintail bird look like?

In flight, the wings are long and narrow. Larger than a Green-winged Teal, smaller than a Mallard. Breeding male Northern Pintails stand out with a gleaming white breast and a white line down their chocolate brown head and neck.

How did the pintail bird get its name?

The pintails are sometimes separated in the genus Dafila (described by Stephens, 1824), an arrangement supported by morphological, molecular and behavioural data. The famous British ornithologist Sir Peter Scott gave this name to his daughter, the artist Dafila Scott.

What is a pintail duck?

The pintail or northern pintail ( Anas acuta) is a duck with wide geographic distribution that breeds in the northern areas of Europe, Asia and North America. It is migratory and winters south of its breeding range to the equator.

Where do northern pintails come from?

Northern Pintails aren’t restricted to North America; they also occur in Europe, the Middle East, India, and Asia. In South America the White-cheeked Pintail and the Yellow-billed Pintail take their place. The oldest recorded Northern Pintail was a male, and at least 22 years, 3 months old when he was found in Saskatchewan, Canada.

What do pintails do in flight?

In flight, males flash a green speculum (the inner wing feathers or secondaries) and females flash a bronzy speculum. Northern Pintails dabble on the surface of the water and filter out seeds and insects with their bills. They also waddle at the edges of wetlands and through agricultural fields feeding on grain and insects.

What is the status of the northern pintail?

Status: Not listed, low concern – More than 2.3 million northern pintail were estimated in the breeding population in 2018. However, substantial declines since the 1950s has resulted in restricted harvest regulations for this species.

Do northern pintails fight each other?

Northern Pintails are generally social birds and rarely fight with other ducks. But when one male threatens another, they jab at their rival with their bill open and chase them with their head hanging low, just above the surface of the water.

How do pintails fly?

They erupt in flight from the water’s surface at a moment’s notice, wheeling and darting through the air on their slender wings. Northern Pintails are generally social birds and rarely fight with other ducks.

Where do northern pintails live?

Northern Pintails nest in seasonal wetlands, croplands, grasslands, wet meadows, and shortgrass prairies. They forage in nearby shallow wetlands, lakes, and ponds.

How can you tell a male from a female pintail?

Breeding male Northern Pintails stand out with a gleaming white breast and a white line down their chocolate brown head and neck. Females and males that are molting (eclipse plumage) are mottled in browns and whites with an unmarked pale tan face and a dark bill.

Where can I find a northern pintail?

National Wildlife Refuges are a great place to look for Northern Pintails. In shallow areas and nearby agricultural fields look for groups of ducks that stand higher than the rest. Their long necks and slender profile readily separate them from other ducks, as does the male’s brilliant white chest and stripe up the neck.

What does a pin tailed whydah look like?

The pin-tailed whydah is 12–13 cm in length, although the breeding male’s tail adds another 20 cm to this. The adult male has a black back and crown, and a very long black tail. The wings are dark brown with white patches, and the underparts and the head, apart from the crown, are white. The bill is bright red.

What is the difference between northern and southern pintails?

Sexual dimorphism is much less marked in the southern pintails, with the male’s breeding appearance being similar to the female plumage. Unusually for a species with such a large range, northern pintail has no geographical subspecies if Eaton’s pintail is treated as a separate species.

What does a northern pintail duck look like?

Get Instant ID help for 650+ North American birds. Northern Pintails are elegant, long-necked ducks with a slender profile. The tail is long and pointed, but it is much longer and more prominent on breeding males than on females and nonbreeding males. In flight, the wings are long and narrow. Larger than a Green-winged Teal, smaller than a Mallard.

How did the secretary bird get its name?

A more recent theory is that the name derives from the Arabic ‘saqr-et-tair’, or ‘hunter bird’. The secretary bird is a large bird of prey found in grasslands and savannah across Sub-Saharan Africa.

Why is it called a ‘hunter bird’?

One theory is that the feathers jutting out behind the bird’s head reminded 19th-century Europeans of the quill pens that secretaries tucked behind their ears, while its grey and black body was reminiscent of their tailcoats. A more recent theory is that the name derives from the Arabic ‘saqr-et-tair’, or ‘hunter bird’.

How did the Anna’s hummingbird get its name?

There are some exceptions, though. Anna’s Hummingbird is named for Princess Anna D’Essling, Duchess of Rivoli (1802–1887), whose husband had the first specimen in his collection.

Why are so many birds named after men?

Unfortunately, the vast majority of eponymous birds are named after men, who were doing most of the exploring and ornitholog-ing (just roll with it) and describing at the time. There are some exceptions, though.

What kind of Duck is a northern pintail?

Northern pintail. The pintail or northern pintail (Anas acuta) is a duck with wide geographic distribution that breeds in the northern areas of Europe, Asia and North America. It is migratory and winters south of its breeding range to the equator.

What does a northern pintail duck eat?

Northern pintail. It feeds by dabbling for plant food and adds small invertebrates to its diet during the nesting season. It is highly gregarious when not breeding, forming large mixed flocks with other species of duck. This duck’s population is affected by predators, parasites and avian diseases.