Northern Pintail (Anas actua) Mike Sefton
Huntington, CA 1/20/2006 © John Van Orman
(Click to view a comparison of Atlas I to II)
Believed by many to be the most beautiful of (Brewer et al. 1991). The first atlas described the pintail as an uncommon breeder, confined ducks, the Northern Pintail is number three on mainly to the marshes of the Great Lakes, the National Audubon Society’s list of the Top including the St. Clair flats in St. Clair County; Ten Common Birds in Decline (Butcher 2007). Pte. Mouillee, Monroe County; the Saginaw The pintail is a medium sized duck, with a long Bay area; the coastal marshes of Delta County; neck, and in breeding plumage, the male has a and sites in Emmet and Houghton Counties, rich brown head with a gray bill, white neck and with breeding confirmed in 12 townships breast, upperparts and underwings mainly gray (McPeek and Adams 1994). For the second with a green speculum, and long dark central atlas, there are only two probable and three rectrices. In flight the bird looks slim and long- possible breeding records. The locale of the winged. The female is buffy overall, with a breeding sites for the second atlas mirrors those gray bill and plain buffy head. The pintail is for the first atlas, with at least possible breeding circumpolar in distribution, and the bird’s in Monroe, St. Clair, Saginaw, Sanilac, and breeding range in North America is primarily in Delta counties. However, there were no Alaska and western Canada, and in the prairie incidences of confirmed breeding for the second pothole region of the Northern Great Plains in atlas, and only five townships had possible and the U.S., though it extends to central California probable breeders. in the west and the Maritimes in the east (Austin and Miller 1995). Northern Pintails winter from Breeding Biology the southern U.S. south to northern South The pintail is one of the first ducks to breed in America in the Americas. The pintail is one of the state each year, beginning to nest around the earliest ducks to nest in North America, mid-April in the south and about a week later in soon after ice has melted in many areas (Madge the north (McPeek and Adams 1994). Females and Burn 1988). build nests on the ground among short
vegetation such as smartweed, or taller Distribution vegetation such as willow, often at long Pintails have probably never nested extensively distances from water. As is the case with most in Michigan, as it is at the southern edge of the duck species, the male leaves soon after bird’s breeding range although nests have been incubation begins, with the female performing documented since at least the early 20th century all nesting duties. Pintails in Michigan have
© 2011 Kalamazoo Nature Center Northern Pintail (Anas actua) Mike Sefton single broods, with egg dates from late April to Conservation Needs early June. Chicks from the same nest hatch all The decline in North America is due to the at the same time, after 22 – 26 days, and follow intensification of farming in the Prairie Pothole the mother to water after spending a day in the Region. Spring cultivation of stubble fields, a nest (Johnsgard 1975, MI-DNR 2005). During frequent nesting site for pintails, causes high the breeding season, chicks and adults feed nest loss for these early nesting birds. The mainly on aquatic invertebrates. The ducklings conversion of grasslands to row crops in the fly at seven weeks. In North America, as with western Dakotas is especially harmful to the many duck species, hybridization in the wild population. An effort to promote fall planting in sometimes occurs. Hybrids between Northern areas that remain in crops, combined with Pintail and Mallard, Black Duck, American programs to conserve wetlands and grasslands, Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, and Redhead are will help to increase populations of these ducks known (Austin, Miller 1995). (Butcher 2007). Farm bill conservation programs that encourage conversion of marginal Abundance and Population Trends farmlands to grasslands will also help. Similar In Michigan, the pintail is a fairly common programs in Michigan may help to increase migrant at peak migration in mid to late April in nesting attempts by this species. the LP, and in late April and early May in the UP; casual to accidental in the summer statewide; fairly common in the last week of September through November in the southern LP; and in winter, rare to accidental in the LP, and mainly absent in the UP (Chartier, Ziarno 2004). The first atlas listed 38 occurrences of pintail, whereas the second atlas survey had less than half that number (Brewer et al. 1991). States surrounding Michigan reported even fewer occurrences in their atlases; Ohio had two with one confirmed nesting (Peterjohn and Rice 1991); Indiana had no reports for their atlas or breeding bird survey routes (Castrale et al. 1998); Illinois had one confirmed, two probable and four possible breeding records (Kleen et al. 2004); Wisconsin had two confirmed nesters with two probable and three possible (Cutright et al. 2006). The second Ontario atlas showed a decline in the probability of observation in four of five regions of the province, and an overall decline from seven percent for the first atlas versus 5.4 percent for the second atlas (Cadman et al. 2007). Though the primary breeding range for the pintail is north and west of Michigan, the decline of the species in Michigan mirrors the overall decline in population in North America from a high of 16 million to the current 3.6 million (Butcher 2007).
© 2011 Kalamazoo Nature Center Northern Pintail (Anas actua) Mike Sefton
Literature Cited Madge, S. and H. Burn. 1988. Waterfowl: A Guide to the Ducks, Geese, and Swans of the Austin, J.E., and M.R. Miller. 1995. Northern World. Houghton Mifflin. NY, NY. Pintail (Anas acuta). In The Birds of North McGowan, K.J., and K. Corwin. 2008. The America, No. 163 (A. Poole and F. Gill, Second Atlas of Breeding Birds of New York eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc. State. Cornell University Press. Ithaca, NY. Philadelphia, PA. McPeek, G.A., and R.J. Adams (eds.). 1994. Brewer, R., G.A. McPeek, and R.J. Adams Jr. The Birds of Michigan. Indiana University 1991. The Atlas of Breeding Birds of Press. Indianapolis, IN. Michigan. Michigan State University Press. Michigan Department of Natural Resources East Lansing, MI. (MI-DNR). 2005. Michigan breeding bird Butcher, G. 2007. A state of the birds report: atlas: species breeding season dates. common birds in decline. Audubon Michigan Natural Resources. Lansing, MI. Magazine. National Audubon Society. NY, Accessed 12 Feb 2010: NY. Accessed 10 Feb 10:
© 2011 Kalamazoo Nature Center