Northern Pintail

Latin Name: 
Anas acuta
Category: 
Size: 
60cm
Description: 

A slender duck with a pointed tail. Male: greyish above; chocolate-brown head and upper neck; thin white stripe up neck side; bronze-green speculum. Female:
mottled buff-brown; pointed tail lacks longer tailpins; whitish belly. Non-breeding male like female, but mantle greyish. In flight, pointed tail between feet  distinctive. Highly gregarious; extremely common on vegetation-covered jheels; males often in separate flocks, especially on arrival in winter grounds; crepuscular and nocturnal; characteristic hissing swish of wings as flock flies over.

Habitat: 
vegetation-covered jheels, lagoons
Food: 
shoots, seeds of aquatic plants, rice, also water insects and molluscs.
Distribution: 
winter visitor across the subcontinent.
Call: 
Call Description: 
usually quiet
National Status: