Northern Pintail
Anas acuta
Also known as: Pintail, Lenja Hans
Habitat
Aquatic
Diet
PlantSeed
Active Time
Diurnal
Size
945 g
About This Species
This slender duck is named for its long, pointed tail feathers, most visible on breeding males, and it favours shallow wetlands, flooded fields, and estuaries where it dabbles and upends for food rather than diving deeply. Look for large wintering flocks on open water and listen for the male's soft, whistled call during courtship displays. Winter is the best season across much of its range, with spectacular numbers on some estuaries and reservoirs.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Watching from a hide, vehicle, or fixed shoreline position keeps large wintering flocks calm and undisturbed, since repeated flushing wastes energy birds need to survive winter.
- This species is a protected migratory bird across most of its range, with hunting tightly regulated by season and bag limit rather than unrestricted.
- Staying back from roosting and feeding flocks, particularly at high tide when space is limited, is the simplest way to avoid disturbance.
LCAvesAnseriformesAnatidae
Seasonal Activity
3,300,250 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Anseriformes
- Family
- Anatidae
Traits
- Diet
- PlantSeed
- Foraging
- Aquatic
- Activity
- Diurnal
- Body mass
- 945 g
Photo
Wikimedia Commons / Wikimedia Commons
CC-BY-SA-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.