Interesting Facts
- Pintails are dabbling ducks. The "dabbling" refers to their feeding behavior rather than a swimming style. Their feet are located more toward the center of the body rather than toward the rear , as in diving ducks. Dabbling ducks collect food at the water's surface, although occasionally they can go end-up to retrieve something from the bottom . Their long necks allow them to go deeper in water than other ducks. Feeding also occurs on land which the ducks have to search around for insects and seed usual in coastal areas. The food is gathered by groups or individuals while the nest is being built.
Common Names
Click on the language to view common names.
Common Names in English:
Bahama Duck, Bahama Pintail, Galapagos Pintail, White-Cheeked Pintail
Common Names in French:
Canard Des Bahamas
Common Names in German:
Bahamaente
Description
Physical Description
Adult : Head : Cap: dark brown Top: brown Face : Cheeks: white Color: white Forehead: dark brown Bill: blue-gray Upper Mandible: blue-gray with red at basal sides Neck: Back: brown Color: upper portion white Nape: brown Throat : white Body: Breast: buff spotted brown Flanks: buff spotted brown Underparts: heavily spotted tawny or reddish Legs : Foot Color: brown Wings: Speculum: metallic green bordered by wide cinnamon bands Tail: fawn color Shape : pointed.
Color:
Head
and neck medium brown with white cheeks. Bill blue gray with red side patch
. Body pale
brown with darker spots. Wing primaries darker brown with pale fringes. Feet and legs
are gray.
Females are smaller than males with slightly duller feather
and bill color.
The silver bahama pintail is a color variant
of the bahama pintail. Both have a full white body with patches of gray spots along with burnt orange webbed
feet.
Bahama Pintails weigh from 1 to 2 lbs
. The female is the biggest, weighing up to 2 lbs.
Size/Age/Growth
About 18 to 20 inches long, with a wingspan of 26 to 31 inches. Adults weigh about 19.2 ounces .
Habitat
Prefers freshwater ponds , mangrove swamps, small pools and lagoons of brackish water.
Vegetation: freshwater marshes, saltwater and brackish marshes, freshwater lakes and ponds, alkaline lakes, freshwater marshes, coastal waters • Foraging Strata: Water • Center of Abundance: Lower tropical: lowlands, lower than 500 m.; tropics. • Sensitivity to Disturbancet: Low
Ecology: List of Habitats : 5.4 Wetlands (inland) - Bogs , Marshes, Swamps , Fens , Peatlands 5.5 Wetlands (inland) - Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha) 5.16 Wetlands (inland) - Permanent Saline, Brackish or Alkaline Marshes/Pools 9.1 Marine Neritic - Pelagic 12.5 Marine Intertidal - Salt Marshes (Emergent Grasses)
Biology
Diet
Feeds on aquatic plants , seeds, buds and leaves by diving and up-ending in shallow water.
Reproduction
The breeding season
varies geographically, usually late spring
in the Caribbean, October and November in the south, and year-round in the Galapagos. The Bahama Pintail nests
in thick vegetation near water. A clutch
of 5 to 12 cream-colored eggs
is incubated for about 25 days.
Reproductive season
is generally through the months of July - November depending on their region. Males can breed
all year long between groups, where as, the female breeds once a year.
Nests are constructed by the females only or with groups. A nest is constructed on the ground
in thick vegetation. After 5-12 buff colored
eggs are laid, they are incubated by the female for about 25 days. Once hatched the females and sometimes the males will attend to their parental guidance of the young ducklings.
Ducklings are small at hatching
, but they they are ready to fly in 6 weeks. Sexual maturity is reached at the end of their first year; however they may not breed until their second year. Adults
can live for 10-15 years.
Migration
Nonmigratory
Behavior
Social groups are pairs or small groups. Mainly male and female couples stay together watching over their ducklings. For approximately four months, the duckling will stay with their original group. New groups are usually formed by the male. These ducks do almost everything as a couple or as a group. Their bonding is unlimited in the wild since they need each other to survive.
Taxonomy
- Kingdom:
Animalia
(
)
- animals
Notes
Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: 17-Oct-2001
Similar Species
Northern Pintail
Members of the genus Anas
There are approximately 186 species in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:
A. (Mareca) penelope · A. acuta (Northern Pintail) · A. acuta acuta (Northern Pintail) · A. acuta drygalskii (Northern Pintail) · A. acuta eatoni (Northern Pintail) · A. acuta tzitzihoa · A. albogularis · A. americana (American Wigeon / Baldpate) · A. anas · A. andium · A. angustirostris · A. arcuata · A. aucklandica (Campbell Island Flightless Teal) · A. aucklandica aucklandica (New Zealand Brown Teal) · A. aucklandica chlorotis · A. aucklandica nesiotis (Campbell Island Flightless Teal) · A. aurita · A. bahamensis (White-Cheeked Pintail) · A. bahamensis bahamensis (White-Cheeked Pintail) · A. bahamensis galapagensis (White-Cheeked Pintail Duck) · A. bahamensis rubirostris · A. bahamensis rubrirostris · A. bahamensis ssp · A. bernieri (Madagascar Teal) · A. blanchardi · A. boscas · A. boschas · A. boschas domesticus · A. brasiliensis · A. capensis (African Cape Teal) · A. carolinensis (Green-Winged Teal) · A. castanea (Chestnut-Breasted Teal) · A. chiloensis · A. chlorotis (Brown Teal) · A. circia · A. clypeata (Red-Breasted Shoveler) · A. clypeata x · A. crecca (Green Winged Teal) · A. crecca carolinensis (Green-Winged Teal) · A. crecca crecca (Green-Winged Teal) · A. crecca nimia (Aleutian Green-Winged Teal) · A. cristata · A. cyanoptera (South American Teal) · A. cyanoptera borreroi · A. cyanoptera cyanoptera (South American Teal) · A. cyanoptera orinoma · A. cyanoptera orinomus · A. cyanoptera septentrionalium (Cinnamon Teal) · A. cyanoptera ssp · A. cyanoptera tropica · A. cyanoptera tropicus · A. diazi (New Mexican Duck) · A. diazi novimexicana (New Mexican Duck) · A. discors (Blue Winged Teal) · A. discors discors (Blue-Winged Teal) · A. discors orphna (Blue-Winged Teal) · A. domesticus · A. drygalskii · A. eatoni (Eaton's Pintail) · A. eatoni drygalskii · A. eatoni eatoni · A. erythrophthalma · A. erythrorhyncha (Red-Billed Duck) · A. falcata (Bronze-Capped Teal) · A. flavirostris (Speckled/chilean Teal) · A. flavirostris altipetens · A. flavirostris andinum · A. flavirostris andium · A. flavirostris flavirostris (Speckled/chilean Teal) · A. flavirostris oxyptera · A. flavirostris ssp · A. floridana · A. formosa (Spectacled Teal) · A. formosa georgi (Spectacled Teal) · A. formosus · A. fretensis · A. fulcigula (Mottled Duck) · A. fuligula · A. fulva · A. fulvigula (Summer Black Duck) · A. fulvigula fulvigula (Summer Black Duck) · A. fulvigula maculosa (Mottled Duck) · A. gambensis · A. georgica (Yellow-Billed Pintail) · A. georgica georgica (Yellow-Billed Pintail) · A. georgica niceforoi · A. georgica spinicauda · A. gibberifrons (Sunda Teal) · A. gibberifrons albogularis · A. gibberifrons gibberifrons (Sunda Teal) · A. gibberifrons gracilis · A. gracilis (Grey Teal) · A. gracilis gracilis · A. hottentota (Hottentot Teal) · A. hybrid · A. hybrids · A. javanica · A. laysanensis (Laysan Duck) · A. leucophrys (Ringed Teal) · A. leucostigma
More Info
- Search for Pictures: images.google.com
- Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
- Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
- Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books
Further Reading
- Alsop, Fred J. III. Birds of North America - Eastern Region. First American Edition. Smithsonian Handbooks. DK Publishing, Inc. 2001.
- Annual report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, -1965. ENG url p. 103, p. 105.
- Beitr©Þge zur Naturgeschichte von Brasilien / von Maximilian, Prinzen zu Wied. Weimar: Im Verlage des Landes-Industrie-Comptoirs, 1825-1833. GER url p. 925.
- BirdLife International. 2000. Threatened Birds of the World. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, U.K.
- BirdLife International. 2004 Threatened Birds of the World 2004. CD-ROM. BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K.
- Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College. Cambridge, Mass.: The Museum, ENG url p. 109.
- Catalogue of birds of the Americas and the adjacent islands in Field Museum of Natural History. Charles E. Hellmayr, Boardman Conover. Chicago: Field Museum of Natural History, 1948. ENG url p. 356, p. 361, p. 362, p. 363.
- Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum. London, 1874-98. ENG url p. 282, p. 284.
- Check-list of North American birds / prepared by a committee of the American ornithologists' union. Lancaster, Pa.: The Union, 1931. ENG url p. 46.
- FWS/0BS. [Washington]Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Dept. of the Interior. ENG url p. 229, p. 8.
- Novitates Zoologicae. London. url p. 313.
- Occasional papers of the California Academy of Sciences. San Francisco: California Academy of Sciences, ENG url p. 291, p. 45.
- Proceedings of the United States National Museum. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, [etc.] ENG url p. 19.
- Scientific survey of Porto Rico and the Virgin Islands / New York Academy of Sciences. New York, N.Y.: The Academy, 1919- url p. 309.
- Sitzungsberichte der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Classe. Wien: K.-K. Hof- und Staatsdruckerei in Commission bei Carl Gerold's Sohn, GER url p. 312.
- Smithsonian miscellaneous collections. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1862-1968. ENG url p. 2.
- The birds of Chile, by Charles E. Hellmayr. Chicago: Field Museum of Natural History, 1932. ENG url p. 329.
- Threatened wildlife of the United States. Washington, Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife [for sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. Govt. Print. Off.]1973. ENG url p. 198.
- Transactions of the San Diego Society of Natural History. [San Diego]: The Society, 1905- ENG url p. 146.
- Travels in the Confederation, 1783-1784. From the German. Translated and edited by Alfred J. Morrison. Philadelphia, W.J. Campbell, 1911. ENG url p. 290.
- Zoologischer Anzeiger. Jena, VEB Gustav Fischer Verlag. GER url p. 299.
Notes
Contributors
- BirdLife International 2004. Anas bahamensis. In: IUCN 2006. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. and lt;www.iucnredlist.org and gt;. Downloaded on 21 October 2006.
- BirdLife International 2004. In IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCNRedList.org. Downloaded July 18, 2008.
- Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 and ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
- Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-2007. Systema Naturae 2000. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Accessed March 21, 2007.
- Clark, M. A. WhoZoo.
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed March 03, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 5 providers.
- National Aviary, Pittsburgh, PA
- Parker III, T.A., D.F. Stotz, and J.W. Fitzpatrick, "Ecological and Distributional Databases for Neotropical Birds," in Neotropical Birds: Ecology and Conservation, by D.F. Stotz, T.A. Parker III, J.W. Fitzpatrick, and D.K. Moskovits (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996). ISBN 0-226-64676-9.
- Peterson, Alan P. Zoological Nomenclature Resource. Accessed June 19, 2009.
Data Sources
Accessed through GBIF Data Portal March 03, 2008:
- Avian Knowledge Network: eBird
- Biologiezentrum der Oberoesterreichischen Landesmuseen: Biologiezentrum Linz
- Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility: Provincial Museum of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada. Birds (Aves)
- Institute of Nature Conservation PAS: IAS
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology (UMMZ): Bird specimens
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 3854388
- Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: ITS-175079
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13841311
- Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 175078
- IUCN ID: 47201
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 406285
