Northern Pintail

This species is defined as a Review Species . Please submit your records of this species via our record submission page .

Scientific Name: Anas acuta

Malay Name: Itik-Runcing Utara

Chinese Name: 针尾鸭

Range: Found from Europe to North Africa, temperate Asia and North America, wintering to Equatorial Africa, Indian subcontinent, southern China, Korea, Japan, mainland Southeast Asia, Philippines, Central and South America.

Taxonomy: Monotypic.

Size: 51-56 cm

Identification: Male has distinctive long slender neck with dark chocolate-brown head, white lower foreneck and upper breast, black tail-coverts and elongated central tail feathers. Female has long darkish grey bill, plain brown head and pointed tail. Juvenile resembles female but upperparts darker.

Habitat: Lakes, rivers, marshes and various wetland habitats.

Behaviour/Ecology: Keeps to shallow water, feeding on minute aquatic animals and plants.

Local Status: Vagrant

Conservation Status: Least Concern (BirdLife International 2019)

Past records in our database:

Showing only accepted records. Records currently under review are also not displayed. For a full list, click here.

Migrant bar chart (see more bar charts):

Northern Pintail (male) at Tokyo Ueno Park. Photo credit: See Toh Yew Wai
Northern Pintail (female) at Tokyo Ueno Park. Photo credit: See Toh Yew Wai
Northern Pintail (female) at Tokyo Ueno Park. Photo credit: See Toh Yew Wai
Northern Pintail (female) at Tokyo Ueno Park. Photo credit: See Toh Yew Wai
Northern Pintail (male) at Tokyo Ueno Park. Photo credit: See Toh Yew Wai
External Links:

Conservation Status: IUCN Red List Page

Sound Recordings: xeno-canto Link

Wikipedia Entry: Wikipedia Link

eBird Species page: eBird (Northern Pintail)

References:

BirdLife International. (2019). Anas acuta. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T22680301A153882797.en. Accessed on 1 January 2023

Jeyarajasingam, A., & Pearson, A. (2012). A Field Guide to the Birds of Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore. Oxford University Press.

Lim, K. S. (2009). The Avifauna of Singapore. Nature Society (Singapore).

Robson, C. (2014). Field guide to the birds of South-East Asia (Second Edition). Bloomsbury Publishing, London.

RECOMMENDED CITATION

Singapore Birds Project. (n.d.). Northern Pintail. Retrieved on May 29, 2023 from https://singaporebirds.com/species/northern-pintail.