White-cheeked pintail

White-cheeked pintail
Anas bahamensis galapagensis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
Genus: Anas
Species:
A. bahamensis
Binomial name
Anas bahamensis
Subspecies

Dickcissel male perched on a metal pole singing, with neck stretched and beak open.

Songs and calls
Listen to White-cheeked Pintail on xeno-canto

The white-cheeked pintail (Anas bahamensis), also known as the Bahama pintail or summer duck, is a species of dabbling duck that is spottily distributed throughout South America and the Caribbean. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae under its current scientific name.

Taxonomy

The white-cheeked pintail was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the current binomial name Anas bahamensis.[2][3] Linnaeus based his account on the "Ilathera duck" that had been described and illustrated by the English naturalist Mark Catesby in the first volume of his book The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands that was published between 1729 and 1732.[4][a]

Three subspecies are recognised:[6]

  • A. b. bahamensis Linnaeus, 1758 – West Indies and north South America
  • A. b. rubrirostris Vieillot, 1816 – south Ecuador and south Brazil to north Argentina and north Chile
  • A. b. galapagensis (Ridgway, 1890) – Galápagos Islands

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.[7]

Distribution and habitat

It is found in the Caribbean, South America, and the Galápagos Islands. It occurs on waters with some salinity, such as brackish lakes, estuaries and mangrove swamps.[7]

Behaviour

The white-cheeked pintail feeds on aquatic plants (such as Ruppia), grass seeds, algae[8][9] and small creatures (such as insects and small aquatic invertebrates)[8][9] obtained by dabbling. The nest is on the ground under vegetation and near water.[7]

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.[10]

  • Caribbean white-cheeked pintail with 9 ducklings
    Caribbean white-cheeked pintail with 9 ducklings
  • Adult on left with red at the base of its beak and a juvenile with an all black bill on the right
    Adult on left with red at the base of its beak and a juvenile with an all black bill on the right
  • Whitish variant
    Whitish variant
  • Two white-cheeked pintails on the Island of Santa Cruz in the Galápagos Islands
    Two white-cheeked pintails on the Island of Santa Cruz in the Galápagos Islands
  • Taken in the Galápagos Islands
    Taken in the Galápagos Islands

Notes

  1. ^ Ilathera is an alternative spelling of Eleuthera, part of The Bahamas.[5]

References

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2016). "Anas bahamensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22680287A92853819. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22680287A92853819.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ Linnaeus, Carl (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (in Latin). Vol. 1 (10th ed.). Holmiae (Stockholm): Laurentii Salvii. p. 124.
  3. ^ Mayr, Ernst; Cottrell, G. William, eds. (1979). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 475.
  4. ^ Catesby, Mark (1729–1732). The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands (in English and French). Vol. 1. London: W. Innys and R. Manby. p. 93, Plate 93.
  5. ^ Catesby, Mark (1729–1732). The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands (in English and French). Vol. 1. London: W. Innys and R. Manby. p. xxxviii.
  6. ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (December 2023). "Screamers, ducks, geese & swans". IOC World Bird List Version 14.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
  7. ^ a b c 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.
  8. ^ a b "Anas bahamensis (White-cheeked Pintail)" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-10-28.
  9. ^ a b "Anas bahamensis (White-cheeked pintail)". Animal Diversity Web.
  10. ^ Cowell, Dan. "Bahama Pintail / White-cheeked Pintail". Harteman Wildfowl. Jan Harteman. Retrieved 2012-04-29.
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