Home/Species/ Northern Pintail

Anas acuta

Linnaeus, 1758

Northern Pintail

G5Secure Found in 72 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →

G5SecureGlobal Rank

Least concernIUCN

Identity

Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.103829

Element CodeABNJB10110

Record TypeSPECIES

ClassificationSpecies

Classification StatusStandard

Name CategoryVertebrate Animal

IUCNLeast concern

Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations

KingdomAnimalia

PhylumCraniata

ClassAves

OrderAnseriformes

FamilyAnatidae

GenusAnas

Other Common Names

Canard pilet (FR) Marreca-Arrabio (PT) northern pintail (EN) Pato Golondrino (ES)

Concept Reference

American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in The Auk]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.

Taxonomic Comments

See Livezey (1991) for a phylogenetic analysis and classification (supergenera, subgenera, infragenera, etc.) of dabbling ducks based on comparative morphology. Kerguelen Islands Duck (A. eatoni, including A.drygalskii), split from A. acuta (AOU 1997).

Conservation Status

Rank MethodExpertise without calculation

Review Date2016-04-06

Change Date1996-11-21

Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)

Range Extent Comments

BREEDING: Holarctic. In North America, from tundra of Alaska, Canada, western Greenland, to western and central U.S.; also in Old World. NON-BREEDING: in Western Hemisphere, from eastern and southeastern (coastal) U.S., Great Lakes, southeastern Alaska southwestern British Columbia, western and southwestern U.S. south to northern Colombia and Venezuela, rarely to Surinam, including Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Hawaii; and Old World. In the U.S. the highest winter densities occur in northern Utah (Bear River refuge) and western Texas (Muleshoe refuge) (Root 1988).

Threat Impact Comments

Loss of breeding habitat in the prairies may be sufficient to account for declines of upland-nesting prairie populations (Nudds and Cole 1991).

Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

BREEDING: Lakes, rivers, marshes and ponds in grasslands, barrens, dry tundra, open boreal forest or cultivated fields. Most breeding associated with seasonal and semipermanent wetlands (Suchy and Anderson 1987). Often nests near freshwater lakes and ponds, but may nest some distance from water. Readily uses stock-watering ponds in North Dakota (Suchy and Anderson 1987); uses all sorts of man-made ponds in Quebec (Belanger and Couture 1989). May nest under cover of low vegetation or in open. Broods use emergent vegetation for escape cover. Nest is a depression lined with plant material and down. NON-BREEDING: In migration and winter in both fresh-water and brackish situations (AOU 1983); prefers shallow, open freshwater lagoons, marshes, and slough in Costa Rica (Stiles and Skutch 1989).

Ecology

Nonbreeding: usually in groups or small flocks associated with teals or wigeon (Stiles and Skutch 1989). Female and brood may move among different ponds during first few weeks after hatching.

Reproduction

Clutch size usually 6-10 in older adults, 5-7 in yearlings. Adults nest earlier than do yearlings (Duncan 1987). Incubation 21-25 days, by female. Males abandon females early in incubation. Precocial nestlings tended by female, male usually present. Young fledge in about 6-7 weeks. Readily lays replacement clutch if first is lost. In Alaska, nutrient reserves were important in the formation of first clutches, more so than for any other duck species that has been studied (Esler and Grand, 1994, Condor 96:422-432). Northern Alaska: 0.3-1.5 nests per sq km in various locations; 1.0-1.8 nests per sq km in prairie pothole country (see Suchy and Anderson 1987).

Terrestrial Habitats

Grassland/herbaceousTundraCropland/hedgerow

Palustrine Habitats

HERBACEOUS WETLANDRiparian

Other Nations (2)

CanadaN5B,N4N

Province	Rank	Native
Nova Scotia	S1B,SUM	Yes
Ontario	S5B,S4N	Yes
Yukon Territory	S4B	Yes
Labrador	S4B,SUM	Yes
Island of Newfoundland	S3B,SUM	Yes
Manitoba	S5B	Yes
British Columbia	S4B,S5N	Yes
Saskatchewan	S5B	Yes
Prince Edward Island	S1B,S4M	Yes
Quebec	S4B	Yes
Nunavut	S5B	Yes
Alberta	S5B	Yes
New Brunswick	S3B,S5M	Yes
Northwest Territories	S3	Yes

United StatesN5B,N5N

Province	Rank	Native
Georgia	S4	Yes
Tennessee	S4N	Yes
Hawaii	SNRN	Yes
Iowa	S2B,S5N	Yes
Colorado	S5B,S4N	Yes
Idaho	S3N,S3B	Yes
Florida	SNRN	Yes
California	SNRB,SNRN	Yes
North Dakota	SNRB	Yes
Missouri	SNRN,SNRM	Yes
Vermont	SNA	Yes
Minnesota	SNRB,SNRN	Yes
New Mexico	S3B,S5N	Yes
New Hampshire	SNA	Yes
Virginia	S1	Yes
Montana	S4B	Yes
Connecticut	SNA	Yes
Pennsylvania	S4N,S4M	Yes
Louisiana	S4N	Yes
Wisconsin	S3N	Yes
District of Columbia	S2N	Yes
Nevada	S3B,S3N	Yes
Maryland	S4N	Yes
Wyoming	S5B,S4N	Yes
South Dakota	S5B,S3N	Yes
Kentucky	SNA	Yes
Michigan	SNRN	Yes
Oklahoma	S4	Yes
Mississippi	S4N	Yes
Washington	S3B,S4N	Yes
Arizona	S2B,S5N	Yes
West Virginia	S3N	Yes
Oregon	S5	Yes
Alaska	S5B,S5N	Yes
Maine	S1B,S3N	Yes
Rhode Island	SNA	Yes
Kansas	S2B,S4N	Yes
Massachusetts	S1B,S5M	Yes
Arkansas	S5N	Yes
Nebraska	S3	Yes
New York	S3N	Yes
Utah	S3	Yes
Delaware	S4N	Yes
New Jersey	SNA	Yes
North Carolina	S4N	Yes
Illinois	S1	Yes
Indiana	SHB,S1N	Yes
Navajo Nation	S2B	Yes
Texas	S3B,S5N	Yes
Alabama	S5N	Yes
South Carolina	S4N	Yes

Roadless Areas (72)

Alaska (22)

Area	Forest	Acres
Bering Lake	Chugach National Forest	965,076
Boston Bar	Chugach National Forest	53,617
College Fiord	Chugach National Forest	1,130,818
Copper River Wetlands	Chugach National Forest	85,972
Fidalgo-Gravina	Chugach National Forest	257,968
Hyder	Tongass National Forest	121,723
Johnson Pass	Chugach National Forest	152,508
Kenai Lake	Chugach National Forest	213,172
Kenai Mountains	Chugach National Forest	306,600
Middle Kruzof	Tongass National Forest	14,724
North Baranof	Tongass National Forest	314,089
North Kruzof	Tongass National Forest	33,146
North Revilla	Tongass National Forest	215,430
Port Alexander	Tongass National Forest	120,681
Redoubt	Tongass National Forest	68,347
Resurrection	Chugach National Forest	224,615
Revilla	Tongass National Forest	29,298
Roaded Donut	Chugach National Forest	968
Sheridan Glacier	Chugach National Forest	224,683
Sitka Urban	Tongass National Forest	112,003
South Kruzof	Tongass National Forest	55,193
Twenty Mile	Chugach National Forest	198,775

Arizona (2)

Area	Forest	Acres
Butterfly Roadless Area	Coronado National Forest	42,296
Pinaleno	Coronado National Forest	130,920

California (4)

Area	Forest	Acres
Mt. Jackson	Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest	20,721
Rock Creek West	Inyo National Forest	3,626
Silver Hill	Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest	4,423
Timbered Crater	Lassen National Forest	4,096

Colorado (2)

Area	Forest	Acres
Bristol Head	Rio Grande NF	46,087
Red Table	White River NF	39,122

Idaho (4)

Area	Forest	Acres
Bear Creek	Caribou-Targhee National Forest	118,582
Borah Peak	Salmon-Challis National Forest	130,463
Hoodoo	Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest	153,868
Palisades	Caribou-Targhee National Forest	122,002

Montana (5)

Area	Forest	Acres
Bear - Marshall - Scapegoat - Swan	Lewis and Clark National Forest	344,022
Buckhorn Ridge (MT)	Kootenai National Forest	34,716
Cube Iron - Silcox	Lolo National Forest	36,998
Freezeout Mountain	Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest	97,305
Selway - Bitterroot (01067)	Bitterroot National Forest	114,953

Nevada (3)

Area	Forest	Acres
Four Mile	Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest	24,093
Jobs Peak (NV)	Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest	1,342
Table Mtn. - East	Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest	87,789

New Mexico (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Meadow Creek	Gila National Forest	34,167

Oregon (6)

Area	Forest	Acres
Hellhole	Umatilla National Forest	65,679
Hurricane Creek	Wallowa-Whitman National Forest	1,606
Mt. Bailey	Umpqua National Forest	18,401
North Paulina	Deschutes National Forest	19,670
South Paulina	Deschutes National Forest	9,074
Tenmile	Siuslaw National Forest	10,818

South Dakota (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Indian Creek	Buffalo Gap National Grassland	24,666

Tennessee (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Big Laurel Branch Addition	Cherokee National Forest	5,577

Texas (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Big Creek	National Forests in Texas	1,447

Utah (2)

Area	Forest	Acres
Hogsback	Wasatch-Cache National Forest	7,936
Little Creek	Fishlake National Forest	11,479

Virginia (2)

Area	Forest	Acres
Bear Creek	Jefferson National Forest	18,274
North Mountain	Jefferson National Forest	8,377

Washington (3)

Area	Forest	Acres
Blue Slide	Wenatchee National Forest	17,505
Goat Rocks Adj	Wenatchee National Forest	6,108
Mt. Baldy	Olympic National Forest	3,557

Wyoming (13)

Area	Forest	Acres
Beartooth Proposed Wilderness	Shoshone National Forest	16,837
Gros Ventre Mountains	Bridger-Teton National Forest	106,418
Mosquito Lake - Seven Lakes	Bridger-Teton National Forest	51,950
Palisades	Targhee National Forest	1,121
South Beartooth Highway	Shoshone National Forest	105,570
Sulphur Creek	Shoshone National Forest	30,221
Teton Corridor Trailheads	Bridger-Teton National Forest	286
Trout Creek	Shoshone National Forest	44,034
Wapiti Valley North	Shoshone National Forest	18,345
Wapiti Valley South	Shoshone National Forest	43,517
Warm Spring Creek	Shoshone National Forest	6,216
West Slope Tetons	Targhee National Forest	47,448
Windy Mountain	Shoshone National Forest	31,283

References (37)

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