The Avianweb strives to maintain accurate and up-to-date information, The Heroes that Were Pigeons: The Smart “Rescue and War” Pigeons Mia McPherson 2015-07-25T17:11:57-06:00. It is therefore not believed to meet the IUCN Red List threshold criterion of a population decline of more than 30% in ten years or three generations, and is evaluated as of least concern. Large birds of prey, such as northern goshawks, will take ducks from the ground, and some falcons, including the gyrfalcon, have the speed and power to catch flying birds. The male is 59 - 76 cm in abbr=on in length and weighs 450 - 1360 g lb abbr=on, and therefore is considerably larger than the female, which is 51 - 64 cm in abbr=on long and weighs 454 - 1135 g lb abbr=on. Title: Juvenile drake Northern Pintail in eclipse plumage? Juvenile birds resemble the female, but are less neatly scalloped and have a duller brown speculum with a narrower trailing edge. The eclipse plumage is a duller version of the breeding plumage and is brownish overall. Juvenile birds resemble the female, but are less neatly scalloped and have a duller brown speculum with a narrower trailing edge. This dabbling duck breeds across northern areas of Eurasia south to about Poland and Mongolia, and in Canada, Alaska and the Midwestern United States. The pintail walks well on land, and swims well. The drake exhibits no eclipse plumage and is attractive year round. The pintails are sometimes separated in the genus Dafila (described by Stephens, 1824), an arrangement supported by morphological, molecular and behavioural data. Within the large dabbling duck genus Anas, the Northern Pintail's closest relatives are other pintails, such as the Yellow-billed Pintail (A. georgica) and Eaton's Pintail (A. eatoni). The Pintail feeds by dabbling and upending (feeding upside down in shallow water) for plant food mainly in the evening or at night, and therefore spends much of the day resting. Although the species has recovered from that low point, the breeding population in 1999 was 30% below the long-term average, despite years of major efforts focused on restoring the species. The Northern Pintail's breeding habitat is open unwooded wetlands, such as wet grassland, lakesides or tundra. In 1997, an estimated 1.5 million water birds, the majority being Northern Pintails, died from avian botulism during two outbreaks in Canada and Utah. Human activities, such as agriculture, hunting and fishing, have also had a significant impact on numbers. Nevertheless, this species' huge range and large population mean that it is not threatened globally. During the nesting season, this bird eats mainly invertebrate animals, including aquatic insects, molluscs and crustaceans. Juvenile birds resemble the female, but are less neatly scalloped and have a duller brown speculum (= distinctive wing patch) with a … Its upperparts and sides are grey, but elongated grey feathers with black central stripes are draped across the back from the shoulder area. If predators destroy the first clutch, the female can produce a replacement clutch as late as the end of July. Please contact them directly with respect to any copyright or licensing questions. Also, there may be local laws against feeding this species of bird - so it's best to check on that rather than facing consequences at a later stage. This species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae as Anas acuta. The hen alone incubates the eggs for 22 to 24 days before they hatch. The hen alone incubates the eggs for 22 to 24 days before they hatch. Eventual photos shown in this page may or may not be from Wikipedia, please see the license details for photos in photo by-lines. Breeding takes place between April and June, with the nest being constructed on the ground and hidden amongst vegetation in a dry location, often some distance from water. It is often the dominant species in major mortality events from avian botulism and avian cholera, and can also contract avian influenza, the H5N1 strain of which is highly pathogenic and occasionally infects humans. The pintail or northern pintail (Anas acuta) is a duck with wide geographic distribution that breeds in the northern areas of Europe and across the Palearctic and North America. It is susceptible to a range of parasites including Cryptosporidium, Giardia, tapeworms, blood parasites and external feather lice, and is also affected by other avian diseases. This species' preferred habitat of shallow water is naturally susceptible to problems such as drought or the encroachment of vegetation, but this duck's habitat might be increasingly threatened by climate change. The unmistakable breeding plumaged male has a chocolate-brown head and white breast with a white stripe extending up the side of the neck. The maximum recorded age is 27 years and 5 months for a Dutch bird, but the average life span for wild birds will be much shorter than this, and is likely to be similar to that of other wild ducks, such as the Mallard, at about two years. Males in eclipse plumage are similar to females, but are grayer, with some white remaining on the sides of the neck. Populations are also affected by the conversion of wetlands and grassland to arable crops, depriving the duck of feeding and nesting areas. See the creative common license terms by clicking "CC" icon below the map. Special thanks to Ton Smits, Parinya Pawangkhanant, Ian Dugdale and many others for their contribution for range data. It is a shallow scrape on the ground lined with plant material and down. The hen's plumage is more subtle and subdued, with drab brown feathers similar to those of other female dabbling ducks. In winter, it will utilise a wider range of open habitats, such as sheltered estuaries, brackish marshes and coastal lagoons. The Northern Pintail is easily kept in captivity, they are hardy, and have no special requiremnts, they also get along well in a mixed collection. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It is migratory and winters south of its breeding range to the equator. Mainly in winters south of its breeding range, reaches almost to the equator in Panama, northern sub-Saharan Africa and tropical South Asia.

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