25 inches long with a 34 inch wingspan. The Northern Pintail is a slender medium-sized dabbling duck with a long, slim neck that gives the rounded brown head a bulbous appearance. The male has a very long pointed tail with black central tail feathers. He also has a gray bill with a black stripe down the center. The white on the neck extends up the back of the head. The back and flanks are gray with black centers in the feathers. The undertail coverts are black. The female has a gray bill and a tan head and neck. The body is mottled dark brown with a paler belly.
The Northern Pintail is an early migrant in each direction. It is an uncommon spring and fall migrant showing up in February through April and again from August through late November. They are most often seen flying over the floodplain and at the Great Marsh.
The Northern Pintail is an elegant bird. It nests from the northern Great Plains all the way up to Alaska. It is among the earliest nesting ducks in North America, beginning shortly after ice-out in many northern areas. Nests are built on the ground by females, often long distances from water. The ducklings all hatch together in one day and follow the female to water the next day. The continental population of Northern Pintails has declined significantly from 6 million birds in the early 1970s to less than 3 million in the late 1980s. However, new conservation measures, such as habitat restoration and enhancement of agricultural lands, as well as prudent harvest restrictions, have stabilized the population.
Disclaimer: The content of NatureSearch is provided by dedicated volunteer Naturalists of Fontenelle Forest who strive to provide the most accurate information available. Contributors of the images retain their copyrights. The point of contact for this page is: Phil Swanson.