Eaton's Pintail

This species was named after the English explorer and naturalist Alfred Edmund Eaton.

The Eaton's Pintail is classified as Vulnerable (VU), considered to be facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.

The Eaton's Pintail (Anas eatoni) is a dabbling duck of the genus Anas. The species is restricted to the island groups of Kerguelen and Crozet in the southern Indian Ocean. It resembles a small female Northern Pintail. The species is threatened by introduced species, particularly feral cats, which prey on them. This species was named after the English explorer and naturalist Alfred Edmund Eaton. There are two subspecies: A. eatoni eatoni (Kerguelen Islands Pintail) and A. More

Eaton's Pintail has two subspecies, A. e. eatoni (the Kerguelen Pintail) of Kerguelen Islands, and A. e. drygalskyi (the Crozet Pintail) of Crozet Islands, and was formerly considered conspecific with the northern hemisphere's Northern Pintail. Sexual dimorphism is much less marked in the southern pintails, with the male's breeding appearance being similar to the female plumage. Unusually for a species with such a large range, Northern Pintail has no geographical subspecies if Eaton's Pintail is treated as a separate species. More

geographical subspecies if the possibly conspecific Eaton's Pintail is considered to be a separate species. This is a fairly large duck, with a long pointed tail that gives rise to the species' English and scientific names. The male has a very distinctive brown, grey and white appearance, whereas the female has mainly light brown plumage and a shorter tail. The male's call is a mellow whistle, whereas the female quacks like a Mallard. More

* Eaton's Pintail (Anas eatoni), from the islands of Kerguelen and Crozet In other birds: * Pintail Snipe (Gallinago stenura), a small stocky wader In other uses: * Fairey Pintail, a British single engined floatplane fighter * Pintail Island, Nunavut, Canada * USS Pintail (AMc-17), a U.S. Navy minesweeper Disambig gray. More

The closely related Eaton's Pintail was once considered to be island races of this species: A. eatoni eatoni (Kerguelen Island Pintail), of Kerguelen Island, and A. e. drygalskyi (Crozet Pintail), of Crozet Island. In both, the males do not develop the full breeding plumage. They are a scarce breeding species in Great Britain, where they breed at a few scattered sites. Favourite areas are the Scottish Highlands, Galloway, East Anglia and Kent. More

Xavier Cortada, 69E Eaton's Pintail, pencil on paper, 9" x 12", 2009 - 69°E Anas eatoni Eaton's Pintail Photo courtesy of n. Hanuise. - For more information on the Eaton's Pintail, please visit: http://www.iucnredlist. More

For the purposes of our bird news services, Eaton's Pintail is classed as ungraded: species which are unlikely to appear as wild birds in Britain or Ireland (Note that rarity levels are currently applied nationally and may not reflect local variations in abundance. More

Eaton's Pintail Anas eatoni is sometimes included in this species. Distribution: Palearctic and N America; winters to s Eurasia and n S America (Map) Taxon info Pictures On Internet Who X? Dist. References: James F. Clements. More