>While out birding this weekend, my husband and I saw several Pintail ducks.
>These were found in a swampy plowed field. They were with Mallards and
>American Wigeons and Green Winged Teals. We also saw ducks that looked like
>Pintails, but did not have the long "pin tail." Do these ducks ever shed
>the long tails, or do immatures not have them??
>
>Please respond to Shawna - my Internet address is:
>kevinb at sos.net
>Kevin R. Benedict

I thought anything that looked like a typical male Pintail would have had
the long central tail feathers, but it may be that immatures can attain the
adult plumage without that; if so, I didn't realize it. Once attained,
they don't shed them except in the summer when they are molting.

Having just written that, I looked in the Handbook of North American Birds,
by Ralph Palmer, and he stated that in immature males--which attain full
plumage by midwinter--that some adult tail feathers may molt in relatively
late. Perhaps they were still growing in.

Dennis Paulson phone: (206) 756-3798
Slater Museum of Natural History fax: (206) 756-3352
University of Puget Sound e-mail: dpaulson at ups.edu
Tacoma, WA 98416