Northern Pintail

Anas acuta
STANFORD LOCATIONS:

Uncommon to fairly common winter visitor at Lagunita, usually seen foraging in shallows at the edge of the lake.
  
Nest
Location
Nest
Type
Eggs
Mating System
Dev.
Parental Care
Primary &
2ndary Diet
Foraging
Strategy
F
I: 22-25 DAYS
PRECOCIAL 2
F
6-9
(6-12)
MONOG
F: 36-57 DAYS
F
GREENS
GROUND GLEAN
BREEDING: Grassland, cultivated field, tundra, sandy flat, island in boreal forest lake, marsh, pond. 1 brood
DISPLAYS: See: Duck Displays.
NEST: Occ far from water, concealed in grass, stubble, etc. Filled with dry grass, leaves. Lined with finer materials. Down added as incubation advances.
EGGS: Olive-green/olive-buff. 2.2" (55 mm).
DIET: About 90 % veg, including seeds, aquatic veg, sedge, grain; minnows, aquatic invertebrates, insects, tadpoles.
CONSERVATION: Winters s to n S.A. Nests placed in stubble fields often plowed up. Often poisoned by ingested lead shot.
NOTES: Clutch size small for dabbling duck. Female nest site tenacity not well developed. Male deserts female early in incubation. Female feigns injury in defense of young. Ranks third as game bird after Mallard and American Black, in both abundance and distribution.
ESSAYS: Metallic Poisons; Dabblers vs. Divers; Commensal Feeding; Nest Lining; Feathered Nests; Distraction Displays; Site Tenacity.
REFERENCES: Bellrose, 1976; Gooders and Boyer, 1986; Hepp, 1985.

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Except for Stanford Locations, the material in this species treatment is taken, with permission, from The Birder's Handbook (Paul Ehrlich, David Dobkin, & Darryl Wheye, Simon & Schuster, NY. 1988).