The pintail or northern pintail (Anas acuta) is a duck species with wide geographic distribution that breeds in the northern areas of Europe and across the Palearctic and North America. It is migratory and winters south of its breeding range as far as the equator.

Northern Pintail Identification. Overview; ID info; Life History; Maps; Sounds; Identification; Photo Gallery; Similar Species; Northern Pintail Photos and Videos

Widespread across North America, Europe, and Asia, the Northern Pintail is probably one of the most numerous duck species in the world (although outnumbered by the omnipresent Mallard). Slim and long-necked, it has an elegant appearance both on the water and in flight.

Conservation Science Northern Pintail: Animated Abundance Map from State of North America's Birds 2016

From 2019–2020, hunters took on average 366,000 Northern Pintail per year. Populations appear to fluctuate with drought, decreasing during drought years, and recovering in wetter years. Loss of wetland habitat, cultivation of grasslands, and agricultural practices that destroy nests also affect the population .

The handsome Northern Pintail is one of North America's most widespread ducks, especially in the West, though it is not nearly as abundant as the more familiar Mallard. This species is distinctive both on the water and in flight.

Elegant, slender duck with long neck and tail. Males have a chocolate brown head with a white slash coming up the neck, white breast, and mostly gray body. Females are patterned light brown. Forages in wetlands and in fields on agricultural waste grains.

pintail, any of four species of sleek, long-tailed, long-necked dabbling ducks of the genus Anas (family Anatidae). They are swift fliers and popular game birds. The common, or northern, pintail (Anas acuta), widespread in the Northern Hemisphere, is a long-distance flier; some Alaskan birds winter as far away as Hawaii. Pairs form at the ...

The Pintail is an elegant duck, long-necked, long-billed and long-tailed – the last feature giving the bird its name. Both male and female Pintail share the long, slender dark grey bill, but the male's chocolate head and neck with creamy throat stand out.

The pintail is easily distinguished by its long, pointed tail feathers. Males have a chestnut-coloured head, white neck and grey body, while females are mottled brown with smaller, pointed tails. Pintails also have a long, graceful neck.