Northern Pintail

Photo of a northern pintail pair floating on water.
Scientific Name
Anas acuta
Family
Anatidae (ducks, geese, swans) in the order Anseriformes
Description

The adult northern pintail male has a brown head, white breast, and a gray body, with a long, curved border on the neck where the brown meets the white. A narrow white streak extends up from the neck onto the head. The under tail coverts are black, and the upper tail coverts are long and tapered to a “pin tail.” The flanks are creamy buff. Female is brownish with a bronze speculum and solid gray bill; their tails are not as long as those of males. Females quack and males whistle.

Similar species: The northern pintail’s long neck and uniform brown (male) and tan (female) face distinguishes it from other ducks.

Size

Length: 27 inches (male); 21 inches (female) (tip of bill to tip of tail).

Where To Find
image of Northern Pintail distribution map

Statewide.

Northern pintails forage in shallow water on marshes, ponds, and lakes. They also commonly visit crop fields or stubble. They fly fast and often zigzag before leveling off to land. Pintails belong to a large group of ducks called “dabbling ducks” or “dipping ducks,” which rarely dive completely below the surface but instead tip forward with only their heads or fronts of their bodies under water. Mallards, teal, gadwall, shovelers, and wigeon are also in this group.

Like other dabblers, pintails forage near the surface in shallow water, sifting mud through their bills to strain out aquatic vegetation, sedges, seeds, and invertebrates. In winter, pintails often feed on grain in crop fields.

Common migrant. A few individuals have been observed during the summer, with nesting recorded. Uncommon winter resident statewide.

Like many other migratory waterfowl, northern pintails typically fly through Missouri in spring and fall as they move between their breeding grounds in Canada and northern U.S. states and their winter territory in about the southern half of the United States and Central America. Their nests are built on the ground in brushy or grassy places, usually away from water. As with other ducks, the young hatch covered with down and are able to walk around soon after hatching.

In the early 1900s, waterfowl specialist Herbert K. Job wrote of the pintail: “Though I prefer it alive, I must admit that it is very fine on the table, and that I had just as soon eat it as any other Duck.” He also praised the then-new conservation laws that restored this duck’s numbers.

Migratory waterfowl (and any migrating animal, for that matter) play important ecological roles in both breeding and overwintering territories. They also influence the ecology of every region they migrate through in spring and fall.

Media Gallery
Photo of a northern pintail pair floating on water.
A dabbling duck named for its long, tapered tail, the northern pintail is a common migrant in Missouri.
Noppadol Paothong
1/9
Photo of a pair of northern pintails in flight.
The northern pintail’s long neck and uniform brown (male) and tan (female) face distinguishes it from other ducks.
Jim Rathert
2/9
Photo of a male northern pintail standing on a shore.
The adult male northern pintail has a brown head, white breast, and a curved border on the neck where the brown meets the white.
Jim Rathert
3/9
Photo of a flock of northern pintails taking flight from a grassy wetland.
One key to identifying female northern pintails is their bronze-colored wing patches.
Noppadol Paothong
4/9
Photo of a northern pintail pair taking flight from water's surface.
Northern pintails, being dabbling ducks, can take flight easily by leaping right up from the water's surface.
5/9
Photo of a male northern pintail taking flight directly from water surface.
This male northern pintail is springing into flight directly from the water's surface.
Noppadol Paothong
6/9
Photo of several male northern pintails standing in a grassy wetland area.
Northern pintails forage in shallow water on marshes, ponds, and lakes. They also commonly visit crop fields or stubble.
Noppadol Paothong
7/9
Photo of a male northern pintail in flight.
Northern pintails typically migrate through Missouri in spring and fall.
Noppadol Paothong
8/9
Photo of three female northern pintails floating on water.
Like other dabblers, pintails forage near the surface in shallow water, sifting mud through their bills to strain out the goodies.
Jim Rathert
9/9
Photo of a northern pintail pair floating on water.
Photo of a pair of northern pintails in flight.
Photo of a male northern pintail standing on a shore.
Photo of a flock of northern pintails taking flight from a grassy wetland.
Photo of a northern pintail pair taking flight from water's surface.
Photo of a male northern pintail taking flight directly from water surface.
Photo of several male northern pintails standing in a grassy wetland area.
Photo of a male northern pintail in flight.
Photo of three female northern pintails floating on water.
Similar Species

Where to See Species

Grassy field with lakes in background at Schell Osage CA
Schell-Osage Conservation Area
Schell-Osage Conservation Area and the Osage River, which forms the area's north boundary, derive their names from the Osage Indians that once inhabited the area.
About Birds in Missouri

About 350 species of birds are likely to be seen in Missouri, though nearly 400 have been recorded within our borders. Most people know a bird when they see one — it has feathers, wings, and a bill. Birds are warm-blooded, and most species can fly. Many migrate hundreds or thousands of miles. Birds lay hard-shelled eggs (often in a nest), and the parents care for the young. Many communicate with songs and calls.

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