Northern Pintail

The Northern Pintail is a large, elegant dabbling duck named for the breeding male's long, pointed central tail feathers. The male also has a dark chocolate-brown head, white breast and a white neck stripe rising behind the head, while the female is mottled brown with a more modest pointed tail. Both sexes have blue-grey bills and grey legs. Its long neck, narrow wings and tapered shape make it appear particularly streamlined both on the water and in flight. (Wikipedia, general species account)

Northern Pintails breed widely across the northern parts of Eurasia and North America and migrate far south beyond the breeding range, in some regions reaching the equator. They use shallow wetlands, marshes, lakes and seasonally flooded open country. As dabbling ducks, they feed mainly at or just below the surface rather than diving deeply, upending to reach submerged material. Despite its enormous distribution, the species is treated as one geographic species without recognised subspecies. (Wikipedia, general species account)