You can’t miss the male Pintail with his striking head pattern and long neck. This duck has a chocolate brown head with a pink sheen. There is a white stripe on the back of his neck and chest, with a grayish back and sides. The long black pointed tail feathers can be a quarter of his overall length andmay be four inches longer than the female’s. There are long black feathers on his back. His green speculum is bordered by buff and his feet are gray. His bill is black with a bluish-gray stripe. The female is like a female Mallard and has a brownish head and a mottled body. The main difference is that she is slim with a long neck and a dark pointed tail (much shorter than the male’s tail) and a grayish bill. You will see a white edge on her upper wing when she flies.

The Pintail is a surface feeding duck, otherwise known as a dabbling duck. It tips its rear end up to feed on underwater plants, seeds, and invertebrates. It can be found feeding at night. The male’s voice is a whistle while the female sounds like a Mallard.

Pintails will eat both plant and animal matter. Their diet consists mainly of grains, moist-soil and aquatic plant seeds, aquatic insects, crustaceans and snails.

They are from the 2012 hatch.  They are available as flying. You can request that a wing be clipped.  To specify, please call 800-456-3280.