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however, and continued prodding about in the mud. When I had come within two steps of them, they raised their heads and waddled farther off among the hummocks, from where they peered out through drooping grass. All but the bright eyes and yellow bills blended completely with the surroundings. Matthews has well said that their pattern fits in so thoroughly with the environment that it is sometimes only the movement of the conspicuous yellow bill that calls one’s attention to their presence. Many observers have noted the birds’ preference to lose themselves in the grass when they are approached, rather than to seek safety in the air, and it is likely that before the arrival of men and guns at South
Georgia they used their wings only for relatively short and infrequent flights.
44:
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472:"The head is methodically withdrawn time and again for surveillance, but it is not unusual to see both giant petrels and pintails simultaneously picking at the same carcass. The ducks are so clever in maneuvering that not many are caught unaware. Unlike the giant petrels that acquire grisly scarlet heads while gorging on the bloody flesh, the fastidious pintails remain remarkably clean by dipping frequently into streams or pools of water."
511:
31:
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358:, a relatively recent self-introduction first recorded breeding on South Georgia in 1971. The speckled teal also has a yellow bill but differs in being smaller and more compact, with less spotting on the flanks, and having a buff bar in front of the speculum, a central white stripe on the underwing, and a shorter and less pointed tail.
470:"One might surmise that the delicate little pintails wait their turn to pick at the bones and small scraps left by the larger predators. Wrong assumption! As soon as there is a small opening in the seal carcass the ducks dive headlong into the hole, which conceals from view their bills and at times even their heads.
505:
Their speed was incredible, dashing from clump to clump like small rats, and it took considerable time to catch them. The parent meanwhile showed little concern, resting on a rock at the edge of the sea some 30 yards away. Their only natural enemy is the skua and time must have shown that so long as
531:, as well as a creaking “inciting call” and a rasping “repulsion call”. Murphy notes “The call of the male is a shrill whistle, repeated several times and frequently uttered in flight. The duck utters a soft quack, and a gurgling note which von den Steinen likened to the bursting of large bubbles.”
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above the ground and shielded from above by overhanging vegetation. When returning from feeding, they usually land some distance away from the nest before creeping to it through the undergrowth, so as not to lead predatory birds to the vulnerable eggs and chicks. They lay small clutches of three to
572:
Numbers have since recovered with the abandonment of South
Georgia as a whaling base; the population probably exceeds 2,000 and is about as abundant as can be expected for the available habitat. The pintail was described in 1979 as being widespread in small numbers and frequenting most bays and
330:), with more uniform and darker plumage. It has a reddish crown, light brown cheeks and throat, dark grey underwings and a pointed tail. The back, breast and flanks are scalloped with buff; the underparts are buffy white, mottled with brown. The bill is yellow with a blue and black line on the
398:
On
December 20th, 1912, I photographed a pair of teals feeding in a trickle of water which ran through tall tussock grass from the melting edge of a glacier. The birds were well hidden by the screen of grass, and I almost stumbled over them before seeing them. They appeared quite unconcerned,
494:
The preferred habitat for raising broods is tussock-rimmed freshwater ponds where the chicks feed around the edges while the female stays in more open water. The broods are moved overland through the tussock from pond to pond. Niall Rankin, who led an expedition to South
Georgia after the
374:
The pintail is widely distributed along the north coast, and the western third of the south coast, of South
Georgia, as well as on its offshore islands. It is largely absent from most of the south coast of the main island because of unfavourable topography.
337:
Unlike other pintails, the males are similar in appearance to the females, though larger. The ducks are 45 to 65 cm in length, the males weighing 610 to 660 g, the females 460 to 610 g. Minor differences are that the male has uniformly brownish-grey
556:”Formerly this little duck was common throughout the coastal belt of the island, but as soon as whaling stations started to spring up and its flesh became appreciated the bird stood little chance of survival if it ventured near any of the populated
560:. Numbers have steadily decreased and while 40 years ago a flock of 100 teal was not an uncommon sight in the winter season, now it is unusual to see more than half a dozen together. In late autumn the most I myself ever saw was four.
307:, or tail feathers. However, the number of rectrices in the ducks is variable, with many mainland pintails also having 16 rectrices and a few South Georgia pintails even having 18, and the three ducks are now usually
481:
South
Georgia pintails breed in solitary pairs during a long breeding season from late October to early March. Their nests are frequently sited some distance away from water; they are well concealed in
503:
I never discovered a nest with eggs, but found two ducklings on
Albatross Island, about two days old, on December 18th, also another brood about a week old on March 11th.
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Outside the breeding season, and when food is locally abundant, the ducks may congregate in small flocks, sometimes of up to about a hundred. Murphy noted:
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933:
Edwards, Ewan W.J.; Forcada, Jaume & Crossin, Glenn T. (2009). "First documentation of leopard seal predation of South
Georgia pintail duck".
527:, rising and falling in pitch, with a concurrent double-noted whistle. Females have been heard to give a decrescendo call similar to that of the
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had reduced the population considerably. Rankin, who visited the island in 1946–47 when it was still a base for whaling operations, commented:
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In the late 19th and early 20th centuries the pintails were considered common; though Murphy reported that, by 1912, intensive hunting by
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The duck is a distinctive small, mottled, predominantly brown pintail. It is smaller and stockier than the remaining mainland subspecies (
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five pale cinnamon-pink eggs, and their chicks' down is dark. They mate for life, with males assisting in raising the young.
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in
January 1775, on the occasion of the first recorded landing on South Georgia, and was formerly considered a full species.
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416:, dabbling and diving in the sea when the water is calm. They also consume a range of invertebrates, including freshwater
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was the first to demonstrate that it is a pintail, its closest relatives the yellow-billed pintails of South
America (now
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The duck has long been recognised as a distinct taxon, with its affinities previously considered to be with the teals.
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the ducklings remain amongst the alleyways between the overhanging clumps little harm can befall them.
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and tip, and the feet are greenish-grey. The downy chick is dark brown with yellowish buff markings.
303:), though he retained it as a full species for its isolated distribution and its 16 (rather than 14)
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Hunting by humans is no longer a serious threat. The eggs and chicks of the ducks were at risk from
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wallows and poorly drained land next to wetlands and melting snow, as well as coastal habitats.
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Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds. Volume 1: Ratites to Ducks
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which were eradicated in 2018 and are at risk from predatory birds, especially
1155:
Weller, Milton W. (1975). "Ecology and behaviour of the South Georgia Pintail
1001:
Waterfowl: an Identification Guide to the Ducks, Geese, and Swans of the World
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Calls recorded from the adult male include a burp – a wheezy, hollow-sounding
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Favoured habitat includes freshwater pools and streams fringed by
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592:. There is a record of an adult bird being killed and eaten by a
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444:, foraging in the intertidal zone and sometimes scavenging at
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1027:. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. pp. 1303–1306.
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The only species it is likely to be confused with is the
1245:
Yellow-billed Pintail at the Internet Bird Collection
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982:. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press.
462:David Parmelee describes the latter behaviour from
1199:Weller, Milton W. & Howard, Robert L. (1972).
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998:
486:, often on a shallow platform of grass stems and
962:Gmelin, J.F. (1789). "(South Georgia Island)".
1230:Mike Danzenbaker: South Georgia Pintail images
1088:. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
1140:. Washington DC: American Geophysical Union.
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1184:. Ames, Iowa: Iowa State University Press.
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1125:Antarctic Isle. Wild Life in South Georgia
1105:"Current status of birds at South Georgia"
568:Brown Skua – a predator of eggs and chicks
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1136:Birds of the Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic
1079:. New York: Macmillan. pp. 948–951.
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458:feeding on seal carcass on South Georgia
1103:Prince, P.A. & Payne, M.R. (1979).
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1474:Birds of islands of the Atlantic Ocean
604:The ducks are recorded as hosting the
1494:Taxa named by Johann Friedrich Gmelin
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980:Ducks, Geese, and Swans of the World
997:Madge, Steve; Burn, Hilary (1988).
885:"Rodents driven from South Georgia"
1240:Photos by Hanne & Jens Eriksen
1173:10.1111/j.1474-919X.1975.tb04207.x
266:. It was among the birds noted by
219:), also misleadingly known as the
14:
1212:British Antarctic Survey Bulletin
1112:British Antarctic Survey Bulletin
873:Prince & Payne (1979), p.111.
573:coastal areas of South Georgia.
42:
1086:Bird Island in Antarctic Waters
1075:Murphy, Robert Cushman (1936).
810:Marchant & Higgins, p.1305.
736:Marchant & Higgins, p.1304.
657:Marchant & Higgins, p.1303.
242:in the dabbling duck subfamily
1077:Oceanic Birds of South America
1023:; Higgins, P.J., eds. (1990).
311:as the yellow-billed pintail.
1:
1479:Birds of subantarctic islands
883:Amos, Jonathan (2018-05-09).
250:to the large (3,756 km)
1005:. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
828:Johnsgard, 1978, pp. 236–238
342:and a glossy greenish-black
1201:"Breeding of Speckled Teal
1084:Parmelee, David F. (1980).
1044:"Anatidae of South Georgia"
787:Parmalee (1980), pp. 70–71.
727:Weller & Howard (1972).
669:Madge and Burn, 1988, p.224
1515:
1180:Weller, Milton W. (1980).
1132:Watson, George E. (1975).
745:Murphy (1936), pp.949–950.
262:, and is a vagrant to the
947:10.1007/s00300-009-0709-z
855:Rankin (1951), p.245-246.
819:Weller (1980), pp. 23–34.
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39:Scientific classification
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615:Rhinonyssus rhinolethrum
362:Distribution and habitat
1489:Birds described in 1789
535:Conservation and status
370:South Georgian panorama
1484:Fauna of South Georgia
1264:Anas georgica georgica
1123:Rankin, Niall (1951).
796:Parmelee (1980), p.73.
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264:South Sandwich Islands
217:Anas georgica georgica
162:Anas georgica georgica
24:South Georgia pintail
1235:Photos by Greg Lasley
1042:Murphy, R.C. (1916).
920:Watson (1975), p.181.
846:Murphy (1936), p.951.
837:Rankin (1951), p.246.
775:Weller (1980), p. 60.
754:Weller (1980), p. 57.
718:Watson (1975), p.180.
637:Gmelin (1789), p.516.
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280:Robert Cushman Murphy
258:and its accompanying
232:yellow-billed pintail
213:South Georgia pintail
1182:The Island Waterfowl
864:Weller (1980), p.23.
704:Weller (1980), p.22.
197:Querquedula georgica
221:South Georgian teal
144:A. g. georgica
1127:. London: Collins.
976:Johnsgard, Paul A.
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356:yellow-billed teal
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298:Niceforo's pintail
16:Subspecies of bird
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1428:Open Tree of Life
1256:Taxon identifiers
1205:on South Georgia"
1203:Anas flavirostris
422:Brachinecta gaini
380:tussock grassland
340:upperwing coverts
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328:A. g. spinicauda
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464:Bird Island
448:carcasses.
315:Description
260:archipelago
1463:Categories
941:(3): 403.
894:2018-05-09
621:References
586:brown rats
583:introduced
540:Population
525:geee-geeee
424:), marine
410:omnivorous
268:James Cook
254:island of
228:subspecies
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600:Parasites
438:nematodes
426:amphipods
390:Behaviour
305:rectrices
223:, is the
124:Species:
62:Kingdom:
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1279:Q2705373
1273:Wikidata
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955:32366299
907:Edwards
889:BBC News
499:, said:
477:Breeding
432:, small
344:speculum
293:and the
274:Taxonomy
246:. It is
244:Anatinae
225:nominate
178:Synonyms
106:Anatidae
102:Family:
76:Chordata
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66:Animalia
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911:(2009).
577:Threats
550:sealers
546:whalers
430:Diptera
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295:extinct
286:as the
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626:Notes
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