Northern Pintail
Anas acuta
The Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) is a common ducks, swans, and geese found in 164 countries, weighing about 945 g. The pintail or northern pintail is a duck species with wide geographic distribution that breeds in the northern areas of Europe and across the Palearctic and North America.
About the Northern Pintail
The pintail or northern pintail is a duck species with wide geographic distribution that breeds in the northern areas of Europe and across the Palearctic and North America. It is migratory and winters south of its breeding range as far as the equator. Unusually for a bird with such a large range, it has no geographical subspecies, although the possibly conspecific duck Eaton's pintail is considered to be a separate species.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
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). The male is 59–76 cm (23–30 in) in length and weighs 450–1,360 g (0.99–3.00 lb), and therefore is considerably larger than the female, which is 51–64 cm (20–25 in) long and weighs 454–1,135 g (1.001–2.502 lb). The northern pintail broadly overlaps in size with the similarly widespread mallard, but is more slender, elongated and gracile, with a relatively longer neck and (in males) a longer tail.
What the Northern Pintail sounds like
Where it lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in Australia, Colombia, Brazil, Panama, Seychelles, South Sudan, Congo - Kinshasa, Caribbean Netherlands, Grenada, St. Barthélemy, Turkmenistan.
When to see it
Best months: January, February, March, April, May, September, October, November, December, with peak activity in January. It is a variable species across most of its range.
Watch the Northern Pintail on live cams
Browse all 118 bird cams worldwide, live and seasonal, by region and species.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Northern Pintail?
- 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). Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Northern Pintail?
- The Northern Pintail is a large sized bird weighing about 945 g.
- Where can you see a Northern Pintail?
- The Northern Pintail occurs in 164 countries, including the United States, Canada, Sweden, India and the United Kingdom.
- What does a Northern Pintail sound like?
- You can listen to 3 field recordings of the Northern Pintail on this page, contributed to xeno-canto under open licences.
- What birds look similar to a Northern Pintail?
- The Northern Pintail is most easily confused with the American Black Duck, the Pacific Black Duck and the Mottled Duck.
- Is the Northern Pintail endangered?
- The Northern Pintail is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Northern Pintail for real
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