Northern Pintail (Anas acuta)

County List:

Rule:

Mixed Forested/Nonforested or Nonforested Landscapes

Nesting and Foraging/Brood Rearing Habitats are Adjacent during the early breeding season

Nesting Habitat:
      Field/Pasture
   adjacent to:
      Pond

Foraging/Brood Rearing Habitat 1st alternative:
      Pond
   adjacent to:
      Any Emergent Wetland

Foraging/Brood Rearing Habitat 2nd alternative:
      Any Emergent Wetland

Habitat List:

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Literature:

Habitat: Northern Pintails are birds of marshes and seasonally flooded wetlands. They appear to respond exceptionally well to moist soil wetland management areas for feeding during migration. Moist soil areas are managed so that annual plants such as smartweeds and barnyard grass grow, produce seeds, and then are flooded during the migration period.

Nests are generally made in upland sites and are likely to be placed in areas where vegetation is sparse and short.

Habitat: Breeding: Shallow freshwater areas such as marshes swamps and ponds generally in open country with low vegetation.

Special Habitat Requirements: Drakes need mud-banks or exposed water margins.

Habitat: Marshes, prairies, fresh ponds, lakes, salt bays. Summers in wide variety of open habitats, including prairies, farmland, northern tundra, near bodies of water. In migration and winter around any shallow waters with exposed mudflats, including fresh and brackish marshes, lakes, flooded fields.

Diet: Mostly seeds, insects. Diet mostly plant material in fall and winter, especially seeds of grasses, sedges, pondweeds, and others, and waste grain in fields. In spring and summer also feeds on roots and new growth. More animal matter in summer, mainly insects, mollusks, crustaceans; sometimes tadpoles, small fish.

Nest: Site is on dry ground among short vegetation, usually near water but can be up to ½ mile away; often more exposed than nests of other ducks. Nest is a shallow depression lined with grasses, twigs, leaves, with addition of down.