Northern Pintail Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesNorthern Pintail
Male
A long-necked duck. Breeding males have a very long tail, a white breast, and a white neck stripe.
© Liron Gertsman / Macaulay LibraryBritish Columbia, November 08, 2014Female
Females are slender ducks with a long tail and neck. Females have rather plain tan heads compared to other female ducks.
© Ryan Schain / Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, February 26, 2014Breeding male
An elegant, long-necked duck with a slender profile. Breeding male has a gleaming white breast, grayish sides, and a thin white line extending up a chocolate brown head.
© Liam Huber / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, November 11, 2022Male
A slender duck with a long neck and tail. In flight, breeding males have a green speculum.
© Kathleen Kent / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, May 19, 2016Female/immature
Females are slender with a plain tan face. In flight, the speculum is brownish bronze.
© Jay McGowan / Macaulay LibraryNew York, October 01, 2016Breeding male
Tips up and submerges head underwater to eat aquatic seeds and insects, filtering out the water with its bill.
© Timothy Barksdale / Macaulay LibraryKansas, November 04, 1995Eclipse male
Slender duck with a long tail and neck. Nonbreeding males in eclipse plumage are pale overall with a plain face.
© Amanda Guercio / Macaulay LibraryOntario, September 30, 2012Male (with Mallard)
Slimmer than a Mallard with a long tail.
© Amanda Guercio / Macaulay LibraryOntario, February 05, 2013Breeding male and female
Courting males stretch their necks up, bob their heads, and tip their bill down while giving a whistle call to attract a female. Interested females follow with head bobbing, preening, and clucking.
© Timothy Barksdale / Macaulay LibraryMontana, March 01, 2001Male
Breeding males have very long black tails and a white stripe up the side of their neck.
© Matthew Pendleton / Macaulay LibraryUtah, January 12, 2016Female
Slender duck with a long neck and tail. Shape helps separate from other ducks.
© Frank Lehman / Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, February 17, 2017Breeding male
Flies on long and slender wings and almost hovers before gently landing on the ground.
© Timothy Barksdale / Macaulay LibraryNew Mexico, December 01, 1997Male and female
In flight, note slender, long-necked profile and long, pointed tail (longer in breeding males).
© Tony Battiste / Macaulay LibraryArizona, January 14, 2021Male and female
Uses shallow wetlands and flooded fields during the winter.
© Oscar Johnson / Macaulay LibraryLouisiana, January 18, 2015Similar SpeciesCinnamon Teal
Female/nonbreeding male
The Cinnamon Teal is smaller than a Northern Pintail with a darker cap and shorter neck.
© Darren Clark / Macaulay LibraryIdaho, April 15, 2019Similar SpeciesBlue-winged Teal
Female/nonbreeding male
The Blue-winged Teal is smaller than a Northern Pintail with a shorter neck and tail. The face and cap are often darker on female Blue-winged Teal than on Northern Pintail.
© Jay McGowan / Macaulay LibraryNew York, May 08, 2015Similar SpeciesMallard
Female (Northern)
A female Mallard has an orangish (not dark) bill, a shorter neck, and a darker crown than a female Northern Pintail.
© Steeve R. Baker / Macaulay LibraryQuebec, April 02, 2017Similar SpeciesGreen-winged Teal
Female/nonbreeding male
The Green-winged Teal is smaller than a Northern Pintail with a darker crown and a buffy stripe at the rear not seen on a female Northern Pintail.
© Luke Seitz / Macaulay LibraryMaine, September 21, 2011Similar SpeciesGadwall
Female
A female Gadwall has a shorter neck than a female Northern Pintail. It also has an orangish bill, whereas a female Northern Pintail has a black bill.
© Talmadge Pipkin / Macaulay LibraryFlorida, February 04, 2017Similar SpeciesGadwall
Breeding male
A Gadwall has a shorter neck than a Northern Pintail. Compared to a female Northern Pintail, a breeding male Gadwall has rusty feathers on the side that female pintail lack.
© Carl Miller / Macaulay LibrarySouth Carolina, March 05, 2017Search species and articles
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