Pin-tailed Duck; American or Northern Pintail (Daflla acota) | Affiliated Manuscripts | Further Data

Occurrence in Amherst & Connecticut Valley, Mass.

C19

Extremely rare or accidental in the county; one recorded in Hampshire county

C20

Transient, uncommon in fall, rather rare in spring

February - December

C21

Not observed by Fischer 1977; not recorded in the Amherst College Bird Survey 2008.

Habitat

marshes, lakes, freshwater ponds, salt bays, prairies

Nest Materials

grasses, twigs, leaves, down

19th-20th Century Field Notes

PIN - TAILED DUCK . ADULT MALE : Head and neck , rich , dark brown ; beneath , white ; above , waved or striped with black and whitish . Length , 25 – 30 inches . Mr . Damon has a male , which he took near Northampton , several years ago . It is the only one recorded in this county .

—H.L. Clark, 1887

21st Century Conservation Notes

Widespread and abundant, but many surveys have suggested a significant decline since the 1960s. Numbers vary considerably; series of drought years on the northern plains may drastically reduce nesting success there.*