The Chilean pintail (''Anas georgica spinicauda''), also known as the golden peck duck or brown pintail, is a
subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
of the
yellow-billed pintail (''Anas georgica''), a
duck in the dabbling duck subfamily
Anatinae. Its local names are ''pato jergón grande'', ''pato maicero'' and ''pato piquidorado'' in
Spanish, and ''marreca-parda'' or ''marreca-danada'' in
Portuguese.
Distribution and habitat
The Chilean pintail is one of three subspecies of the yellow-billed pintail, and by far the most numerous and widespread. It is found throughout much of
South America from extreme southern
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
southwards to
Tierra del Fuego, as well as in the
Falkland Islands. The two other subspecies are the smaller
South Georgia pintail
The South Georgia pintail (''Anas georgica georgica''), also misleadingly known as the South Georgian teal, is the nominate subspecies of the yellow-billed pintail (''Anas georgica''), a duck in the dabbling duck subfamily Anatinae. It is endemi ...
which is limited to the
subantarctic island of
South Georgia
South Georgia ( es, Isla San Pedro) is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It lies around east of the Falkland Islands. Stretching in the east†...
and which is sometimes considered a separate species, and the
extinct
Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...
Niceforo's pintail
Niceforo's pintail (''Anas georgica niceforoi'') is an extinct subspecies of the yellow-billed pintail (''Anas georgica''), a duck in the dabbling duck subfamily Anatinae
The Anatinae are a subfamily of the family Anatidae (swans, geese and du ...
, which occurred formerly in central Colombia.
[
Chilean pintails inhabit freshwater lakes, rivers, marshes, lagoons and flooded meadows up to 4600 m above sea level in the puna zone of the Andes. Populations in the northern parts of the range are mainly sedentary; those further south migrate for the austral winter as far north as southern Brazil.]
Description
Chilean pintails are about 65 cm long. Males weigh 740-830 g and the females 660-770 g. The head and neck are brown with fine black mottling; the throat and foreneck paler. The body is mainly buff-brown with dark centres to the feathers, the birds appearing as spotted on the breast, and paler on the underparts. The feathers of the upperparts are brown-black with buff edges. The wings are grey-brown with buff-tipped greater coverts and glossy black secondaries with buff tips. The speculum is glossy black edged with buff. Females are similar to males though slightly duller in appearance. Juveniles are similar to the adults, but greyer, and with streaking on the breast and underparts. Chilean pintails are generally paler than Niceforo's pintail, and both greyer and distinctly larger than the South Georgia pintail.[
]
Breeding
In the south of their range, the pintails start breeding from October to December, while in the north, in Peru, they breed from August to March. The cream to pale pinkish eggs are about 56 x 40 mm in size, with a weight of 42 g. Incubation takes about 26 days and the period from hatching to fledging 45–60 days.[
]
References
External links
Photographs of Chilean pintail by Arthur Grosset
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3848879
Anas
Ducks
Birds of South America
Birds described in 1816
Taxa named by Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot
Birds of the Falkland Islands