Overview
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.
Taxonomy
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Bird
- Family
- Anatidae
- Genus
- Anas
- Species
- georgica spinicauda
Habitat
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.
Diet
Feeds on aquatic plants and small creatures obtained by dabbling.
Behavior
Nests are formed on the ground and lined with grass and down. They hide their nests in vegetation close to water. They lay 4 to 10 eggs in a clutch.
Hunting
Typically hunted with a 12 ga shotgun. Shot size #2-4 is sufficient. Effectively hunted with decoys and calling. Dogs are used for bird retrieval. Steel shot is required for waterfowl in the United States.
Conservation Status
Listed as Least Concern by IUCN.