This week’s Bird of the Week, compliments of the Weminuche Audubon Society and Audubon Rockies, is the northern pintail.
Cornell Lab’s “All About Birds” website calls these birds the “eager breeders,” a play on words which describes their early arrival on northern breeding grounds. As soon as the winter ice breaks, they can be found in the prairie pothole regions of the Great Plains, in Canada and in Alaska to claim nest sites.
These ducks are at home both on land and in water. They breed in a variety of habitats including wetlands, grasslands, wet meadows and agricultural fields. They often nest further away from water than other waterfowl and place their nests in harm’s way when they build them in cultivated fields. Long summer daylight hours in the far north, which allow young birds to feed at all hours, may allow them to develop faster than more southern breeders.
Northern pintails feed both on land and in the water, eating a diverse array of foods including seeds, worms, snails, crustaceans, aquatic insects and grains. In the water they are dabblers whose long necks allow them to feed deeper than others.
These long-necked, elegant ducks are named for their long central tail feathers, most prominent in a male. In breeding plumage, the male appears silvery with intricate feather patterns and a bright white breast and neck. His chocolate brown head has a white line down the sides and his black bill is edged in blue. Females are tawny-colored in browns and white.
Their fast flight with long, narrow wings and slender profile have given them the nickname “greyhounds of the air.” Outside of breeding season, northern pintails are generally social and often seen in the company of other ducks. Look for them in shallow pond waters, area lakes and on the river.
For information on events, visit www.weminucheaudubon.org and www.facebook.com/weminucheaudubon/.
