Winter/Spring 2000

Species Profile: The Pintail

The pintail (Anas acuta) is perhaps the most graceful of all the waterfowl. It has been referred to as the "greyhound of the air," because of its slim appearance and swift flight. Some of their other common names are sprig, sprigtail, spike and spiketail. The pintail can be seen in all four flyways, but they are more common in the Pacific and Central flyways than the Mississippi and Atlantic flyways.

Identifying a pintail is easy due to its relatively slim body, long neck, and, in the drake, the famous, long, pointed tail feather. Drakes, in breeding plumage, have a brownish head and white neck with a white line on the side of the head. The center tail feather is long, black and pointed. The sides are gray with a white patch in front of the rump.

The hen is brown, similar to the hen mallard, but slightly lighter and more gray. Like the drake, her tail is pointed, but not to the same degree. The pintail drake is three to four inches longer than the mallard drake, but due to the pintail's slender body, it weighs less. The hen pintail is about the same length as the mallard hen, but it too weighs less.

Identifying a pintail in the field requires more practice, but it is not too difficult. The pintail's slim body is obvious on the water and in the air. While on the water, more white is apparent on the drake pintail than any other dabbling duck. The white breast and neck on the drake has been reported seen at over one-half mile. The hen is smaller, mostly brownish in color, with a bill that shows no sign of orange or yellow, as in some other dabbling ducks.

Next to the teal family, the pintail is one of the first ducks to migrate south in the fall and one of the first to migrate north in the spring. They start their winter migration in late August to September, but some have been recorded leaving their northern home in late September to early October.

After only a few months in the south, the pintail starts its tract north. They often start north before the ice and snow has melted from their nest areas, which is usually in late January or early February. Their northern migration will last through March. Pintails are able to over winter almost anywhere as long as open water and food are available.

Most pintails breed in their first year. If water on the prairie is hard to find, first year hens usually do not try to nest. Hens and drakes generally flock separately in the fall, but by mid-December, they begin to mix together. The process for pair-bonding for pintails is a process renewed every year.

When pintails arrive back to their nesting grounds, they waste no time building their nests. Some early nests have been known to be covered up by a late snow. The nest sites are usually in open areas where vegetation is sparse; they have even been known to nest on bare ground. Small, shallow holes are dug by the hen three to four days before the first egg is laid.

They commonly lay one egg for up to fourteen days; sometimes as few as three eggs make the clutch. Once incubation starts, the drake usually leaves the hen. After the eggs hatch, hen pintails lead their brood overland from nest site to water. This expedition for pintail broods may be further than for any other prairie ducks, and usually takes them from one pond to another. A hen has been observed moving her brood 800 yards in the first 24 hours of life.

The pintail's food source consists of a variety of seeds; seeds such as bulrushes, smartweeds, and widgeon grass are just a few. Pintails forage on corn, but prefer small grains like wheat and rice. Recent findings indicate that seeds from native grass provide the best source of food for pintails. They also feed on aquatic vegetation. Although pintails are able to dive for their food better than most dabbling ducks, they prefer to feed in shallow water.
This article was written by Craig Garner, age 21, of Pearl, Mississippi. Editor's Note: Craig began working on his Bachelor of Science Degree in Wildlife Management at Clemson in January, 1999.