Animal
Northern pintail
Anas acuta
Also known as: Pintail
An elegant, slender dabbling duck (20–30 inches) named for the male's long pointed tail feathers. One of the most-widespread ducks in the world; in North America, breeds across the prairie pothole region and northern boreal/Arctic, winters along both coasts and inland wetlands. Delaware Bay's NWRs are significant wintering habitat for the eastern population. The male's chocolate head, white breast stripe, and gray body make it one of the Atlantic Flyway's most-recognizable winter ducks.
Scientific
The northern pintail (Anas acuta) is a long, slim dabbling duck. Adult males in breeding plumage have a chocolate-brown head, white throat extending up the side of the neck, gray body, and elongated central tail feathers. Females are mottled brown but share the slim, long-tailed silhouette. One of the most easily-identified ducks in the field.
Range: nearly cosmopolitan in the Northern Hemisphere. In North America, breeds primarily in the prairie pothole region and across the Canadian/Alaskan boreal and Arctic. Wintering range covers both coasts, the southern U.S. interior wetlands, and Mexico.
Diet: aquatic vegetation, seeds, waste grain (especially rice and corn), aquatic invertebrates. Habitat: shallow freshwater wetlands, flooded fields, brackish marsh.
Delaware Bay wintering
Northern pintails winter in significant numbers in the [[atlantic-flyway|Atlantic Flyway]], with [[delaware-bay|Delaware Bay]] NWRs (Bombay Hook, Prime Hook) holding thousands seasonally. The species favors the freshwater impoundments and adjacent agricultural fields characteristic of central Delaware’s Bayshore.
The continental population has declined substantially since mid-20th century — pintails were once one of North America’s most-abundant ducks — driven primarily by drought and agricultural intensification on prairie breeding grounds. Conservation work focuses on prairie wetland protection.
See also
Auto-generated from this entry’s typed relations: frontmatter, grouped by relation type so the editorial signal isn’t flattened.
- Member of: [[animal]]
- Contained by: [[delaware-bay]] · [[atlantic-flyway]]
Sources
- [[us-fish-and-wildlife-service|U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service]] waterfowl population status reports
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology
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