White-cheeked pintail
| White-cheeked pintail | |
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| Anas bahamensis galapagensis | |
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| Species: | A. bahamensis
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| Binomial name | |
| Anas bahamensis | |
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The white-cheeked pintail (Anas bahamensis), also known as the Bahama pintail or summer duck,[2] is a species of dabbling duck. It was first described by Linnaeus in his Systema naturae in 1758 under its current scientific name.[3]
Distribution and habitat
It is found in the Caribbean, South America, and the Galápagos Islands.[4] It occurs on waters with some salinity, such as brackish lakes, estuaries and mangrove swamps.[4] There are three subspecies:
- A. b. bahamensis—lesser Bahama pintail[2]—in the Caribbean, and a vagrant to southern Florida
- A. b. rubirostris—greater Bahama pintail[2]—in South America; it may be partly migratory, breeding in Argentina and wintering further north.[4]
- A. b. galapagensis—Galapagos pintail[2]—in the Galapagos
Description
Like many southern ducks, the sexes are similar. It is mainly brown with white cheeks and a red-based grey bill (young birds lack the pink). It cannot be confused with any other duck in its range.[4]
Behaviour
The white-cheeked pintail feeds on aquatic plants and small creatures obtained by dabbling. The nest is on the ground under vegetation and near water.[4]
Aviculture
It is popular in wildfowl collections, and escapees are frequently seen in a semi-wild condition in Europe. A leucistic (whitish) variant is known in aviculture as the Silver Bahama pintail.[2]
Gallery
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Adult on left with red at the base of its beak and a juvenile with an all black bill on the right -
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Two white-cheeked pintails on the Island of Santa Cruz in the Galápagos Islands -
Taken in the Galapagos Islands
References
- ^ Template:IUCN
- ^ a b c d e Cowell, Dan. "Bahama Pintail / White-cheeked Pintail". Harteman Wildfowl. Jan Harteman. Retrieved 2012-04-29.
- ^ Template:La icon Linnaeus, C (1758). Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata. Holmiae. (Laurentii Salvii). p. 124.
A. grisea, rostro plumbeo: macula laterali fulva, macula alarum viridi luteaque.
- ^ a b c d e Madge, Steve; Burn, Hilary (1988). Wildfowl: An Identification Guide to the Ducks, Geese and Swans of the World (Helm Identification Guides). Christopher Helm. pp. 224–225. ISBN 0-7470-2201-1.
External links
- White-cheeked Pintail videos, photos, and sounds on the Internet Bird Collection