Species › Birds

Northern Pintail

Anas acuta

Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
Presence in the Strait: Seasonal
Abundance: rare
IUCN (global): LC · Least concern
In Spanish: Ánade rabudo norteño

Photograph: Matt Felperin, CC BY, vía iNaturalist

Length: 61–76 cm
Wingspan: 80–95 cm
Weight: 700–900 g

Presence in the Strait

Rare winter visitor to wetlands (<20).

Identification

Elegant, slender duck with long pointed tail, especially in males. Long neck and narrow grey-blue bill. Green speculum.

Movements

Arrives in September and leaves in February. Postnuptial migration peaks towards the end of October and beginning of November; prenuptial in 2nd hf. February although not very notable.

Ring recoveries

Holland (9), France (2), Finland (1) and Russia (1). Cerceta Común Ánade Rabudo Anatidae Cerceta Común Ánade Azulón Ánade Rabudo

Bioestrecho editorial text. Last revised: 8 September 2026.

Photographs from iNaturalist observations with the licence checked file by file. Those marked “Strait” were taken within the area; place and date are those of each observation.

Calendar in the Strait

20 %

Peak in November. Observations under CC0 or CC BY licences. The distribution also reflects observation effort.

Where it is seen

Open records from the atlas database, in cells of about 3.6 km. Opacity follows the square root of the count, and also reflects where people observe most.

See on the map

First open record: 6 February 1983
Latest record: 7 December 2024

The oldest and the most recent open observation in the extended area. A recent first observation does not mean the species is new: it means nobody had published it openly before.

Conservation

The catalogues, Andalusian and Spanish, are what binds; the Red Book assesses the Spanish population with IUCN criteria, and the global Red List is the context.

LCNTVUENCR

Andalusian Catalogue: Not included
Spanish Catalogue: Not included
Red Book of the Birds of Spain 2021: EN · Endangered · breeding — LC · Least concern · wintering or migrating
Global Red List (IUCN): LC · Least concern

Andalusian Catalogue: Junta de Andalucía, list of 24 April 2025. Spanish Catalogue: MITECO, table of 30 June 2025. Red Book: SEO/BirdLife, 2021 (Annex I). IUCN: via GBIF, 6 September 2026. Red Book and IUCN categories are assessments; catalogue categories are legal obligations.

Where they come from

13 birds ringed in other countries and recovered in the area.

Netherlands9
France2
Finland1
Russia1

See the journey on the map

Same genus in the Strait

Mallard51–62 cm · Resident · overlapping size
Northern Shoveler49–52 cm · Seasonal
Eurasian Wigeon45–51 cm · Seasonal
Garganey37–41 cm · Migrant
Eurasian Teal34–38 cm · Seasonal

Species of the same genus that also occur here, ordered by how close they are in size. Being relatives does not mean they are confused in the field, but that is where the doubts start: compare size and season.

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
GBIF taxon key: 2498112

Sources

Distribution and calendar: Bioestrecho's own database, ingested from GBIF and OBIS
Photograph: Matt Felperin, CC BY, vía iNaturalist
Taxonomy: GBIF backbone, pending WoRMS for marine taxa
Editorial text: written by Bioestrecho
Last revised: 8 September 2026

Northern Pintail

Presence in the Strait

Identification

Movements

Ring recoveries

Gallery