Northern Pintails (Anas acuta), gliding across a fog-shrouded, reed-bordered pond in the winter morning is the quintessential image of a North American wetland. Their distribution is circumpolar and most breeding occurs in prairie grasslands and the arctic tundra of the far north. Pintails migrate in large numbers to the fallow grain fields of California where they spend the winter months. Some remain to breed. Enormous numbers of Pintails may be seen migrating through the Klamath Basin in the fall and spring. They are among the earliest migrants - frequently returning to northern coastal regions as early as July. Their preferred habitat is shallow freshwater and estuarine marsh ponds that are surrounded by reeds. In the California Sacramento Valley, courtship occurs in December and January; courtship activities are best seen during the first two hours of sunrise. The female chooses the male that exhibits the most attentiveness to her needs as seen in this gentle photograph of a resting pair. The male of this pair kept both eyes open while resting, and when he got more than 18” from the female, he would gently and silently paddle back to her side. Research has also shown that the female chooses the male based on the whiteness of the male’s breast feathers and prefers males with the most colorful scapular feathers. Pintails are primarily monogamous. Nests are built near water as shallow depressions which are lined with vegetation, mosses, lichens and down from the female. She lays 6-9 eggs and only she incubates the eggs for 22-26 days. All hatch on the same day and she immediately leads them to water. They are able to fly within 36-57 days and pairs produce only one brood per year. Adults and young eat seeds, aquatic vegetation, snails and small shellfish. Adult pintail predation by red fox is high, particularly of sitting females since pintails nest earlier than most birds and other species are not available for the fox. Hawks, owls, eagles and coyotes also prey on pintail adults and mink take many chicks. Pintail ducks have been described to “feign” death when grabbed by a fox - becoming limp - immobile with its neck extended, eyes open and wings close to its body. Male pintails have a soft whistle and a “zweeaa” buzz while the voice of the female is a mallard-like “quack.”