Pintail
There are three subspecies of this well known duck, of which the Northern Pintail (Anas acuta acuta) is the most common and often seen. They breed throughout the Northern Hemisphere and are highly migratory. In North America, they breed from Alaska south through most of Canada and the northern US. The winter range is very large as well, from California east to the Gulf states and south into Central America and even as far out as the Hawaiian Islands. The Eurasian breeding range begins in Iceland and extends east to Siberia and winter in Africa, the Middle East and most of sout-east Asia. There are no differences in the two populations as males are known for their long, black central tail feathers. The head is chocolate-brown with a white line running up the side of the neck; the breast is white, the back is finely mottled gray and black and wings have a bronzy-green speculum that is bordered tan in front and white behind. The bill is bluish-gray with a black streak and the legs and feet are dark gray. Hens resemble female Mallards, but appears more graceful with a long, slinder neck and pointed tail. The other two sub-species are restricted to two islands in the Indian Ocean. The Kerguelan or Eaton's Pintail (A. a. eatoni) is found on Kerguelan, St. Paul and Amsterdam Islands. The Crozet Pintail (A. a. drygalskii) is found 800 miles west of Kerguelan Islands on the Crozet Islands. They are much different than the Northern sub-species, with males being overall brown and lacking the long tail feather. As far as I know, these two sub-species are not kept in captivity.
