Among the large varieties of ducks, pintails have a prominent place, and they are known for their speed (up to 65 miles an hour!) and handsome appearance. The females (hens) are rather noisy with their loud quacking, while the males (drakes) use double-toned whistles that are much more melodious.
Drakes’ heads are usually chocolate brown, with solid-white feathers covering their underparts and reaching partway up their necks, going farther up their neck in a white stripe. Holding their pretty heads high on long, slender necks, they look like statues on the water. Their long necks help them reach food as they tip, head down, into the water to look for food when floating on water. The hens, like their mates, have slender necks but duller feathers. The very long tail feathers of mature males extend to sharp points, accounting for their “pintail” name. The female’s pointed tail is much shorter.
Their melodious whistling is one of the first signs of spring when they are preparing to migrate to spots in Canada and the northern United States and on into the Yukon and Alaska. In the fall they reverse their flights, traveling far and wide. They have been seen on every continent except Antarctica.
In the fall months, pintails are among the first to leave the north, and the following spring they are the first to fly back. Great flocks often rest during migration where there is a good supply of wheat and other grains left on the ground after harvesting. Some live year-round in some western U.S. locations including California, where the barley and rice fields give them the perfect habitat. Hunting clubs and government groups work together to improve wetland habitats that pintails need, such as grasslands and fallow croplands.
When it’s not nesting season, pintails mix happily with other ducks on lakes, streams and ponds, their many varying calls blending in a tremendous chatter.
With so many millions of birds in the world, do you think the Creator, the Lord God, can tell them apart? And does He really know about each one? Yes, He certainly does, and He feeds them, just as the opening Bible verse tells us. Another verse says: “I know all the fowls [birds] of the mountains” (Psalm 50:1111I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine. (Psalm 50:11)).
Far more importantly, He has His eye on you and wants you to follow His guidance, trusting His love, every moment of your life. The Bible says, “In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:66In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. (Proverbs 3:6)). This is the only right and happy way for a Christian to live.
Did You Know?
Melodious whistling of pintails is one of the first signs of spring.
Messages of God’s Love 8/31/2025