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Northern Pintail
Anas acuta
species of Anatidae


© Alexander Haase
ad. male
ad. female
number longest
primary 10 per wing 194.0 - 212.0mm n=6
P9 (83%) P8 (17%)
secondary 17 per wing 122.0 - 146.0mm n=5
S13 (60%) S14 (20%) S12=S13 (20%)
retrix 16
104.5 - 218.0mm n=6
R1 (83%) R1=R4 (17%)
wing length1 hand-wing-index1,2 (HWI) primaries-index wing length/longest primary ratio hand-wing-index/primaries-index ratio
239 - 278mm n=10 54 - 70% n=8 44 - 49% n=5 no data available no data available
detailed information

The wing length is measured on the flattened and straightened wing ("maximum chord") from the carpal joint to the tip of the longest primary feather, the so-called "Kleinschmidt-method".

combined data from:
Avonet1: 239 - 278mm n=10

The hand-wing-index, introduced by Kipp 1959, is calculated as the ratio of the hand length (difference between the length of the longest primary and the first secondary) to the wing length.

combined data from:
Avonet1: 54 - 70% n=8,
The primaries-index is calculated as the ratio of the longest primary feather length to the first (outermost) secondary. It is the equivalent of the hand-wing index for feather measurements. The wing length/longest primary ratio is calculated as the ratio of the wing length to the length of the longest primary feather. The hand-wing-index/primaries-index ratio is calculated as the ratio of the hand-wing index to the primaries-index.
1 Tobias, J. A., et al. (2022). AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds.
2 Kipp, Friedrich A.: "Der Handflügel-Index als flugbiologisches Maß", erschienen in "Vogelwarte - Zeitschrift für Vogelkunde", 1959, Band 20, Heft 1



male
male
female
male
ad. male
specimens gallery

country allocations

extant

Afghanistan · Albania · Algeria · Anguilla · Antigua and Barbuda (vagrant) · Armenia · Aruba (vagrant) · Australia (vagrant) · Austria · Azerbaijan · Bahamas · Bahrain · Bangladesh · Barbados · Belarus · Belgium · Belize · Benin · Bermuda · Bhutan · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Botswana (vagrant) · Brazil (vagrant) · Brunei Darussalam (vagrant) · Bulgaria · Burkina Faso · Burundi · Cambodia · Cameroon · Canada · Cayman Islands · Central African Republic · Chad · China · Colombia · Congo, The Democratic Republic of the · Cook Islands (vagrant) · Costa Rica · Côte d'Ivoire (vagrant) · Croatia · Cuba · Cyprus · Czechia · Denmark · Djibouti · Dominica · Dominican Republic · Egypt · El Salvador · Eritrea · Estonia · Ethiopia · Faroe Islands · Finland · France · French Polynesia (vagrant) · Gabon (vagrant) · Gambia · Georgia · Germany · Ghana · Greece · Greenland · Guadeloupe (vagrant) · Guam · Guatemala · Guinea · Guinea-Bissau · Guyana · Haiti · Honduras · Hong Kong · Hungary · Iceland · India · Indonesia · Iran, Islamic Republic of · Iraq · Ireland · Israel · Italy · Jamaica (vagrant) · Japan · Jordan · Kazakhstan · Kenya · Kiribati · Korea, Democratic People's Republic of · Korea, Republic of · Kuwait · Kyrgyzstan · Lao People's Democratic Republic · Latvia · Lebanon · Liberia · Libya · Liechtenstein · Lithuania · Luxembourg · Malawi (vagrant) · Malaysia · Maldives (vagrant) · Mali · Malta · Marshall Islands · Martinique · Mauritania · Mexico · Micronesia, Federated States of · Mongolia · Montenegro · Montserrat · Morocco · Myanmar · Nepal · Netherlands · Nicaragua · Niger · Nigeria · North Macedonia · Northern Mariana Islands · Norway · Oman · Pakistan · Palau · Palestine, State of · Panama · Papua New Guinea (vagrant) · Philippines · Poland · Portugal · Puerto Rico · Qatar · Romania · Russian Federation · Rwanda · Saint Barthélemy · Saint Kitts and Nevis · Saint Lucia · Saint Pierre and Miquelon · Saint Vincent and the Grenadines · Saudi Arabia · Senegal · Serbia · Seychelles (vagrant) · Sierra Leone · Singapore · Slovakia · Slovenia · Somalia · South Africa · South Sudan · Spain · Sri Lanka · Sudan · Suriname · Svalbard and Jan Mayen · Sweden · Switzerland · Syrian Arab Republic · Taiwan, Province of China · Tajikistan · Tanzania, United Republic of · Thailand · Togo · Tonga (vagrant) · Trinidad and Tobago (vagrant) · Tunisia · Türkiye · Turkmenistan · Turks and Caicos Islands · Uganda · Ukraine · United Arab Emirates · United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland · United States Minor Outlying Islands · United States of America · Uzbekistan · Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of · Viet Nam · Virgin Islands, British · Virgin Islands, U.S. · Western Sahara · Yemen · Zambia · Zimbabwe ·
source: IUCN 2025. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2025-1 <www.iucnredlist.org>
assessment data: |

Ducks, geese and swans

distribution

conservation status

  • CITES
    not listed
  • Regulation (EG) Nr. 865/2006
    not listed
  • German Federal Nature Conservation Act §44
    protected
  • listed in hunting law