White-cheeked Pintail (Anas bahamensis)

Order: Anseriformes | Family: Anatidae  | IUCN Status: Least Concern

white-cheeked_pintail
Age: Adult | Sex: Unknown | Loc. Humedales de Ventanilla

white-cheeked_pintail
Age: Adults | Sex: Unknown | Loc. Villa Marshes, Lima

white-cheeked_pintail
Age: Adult and Chicks | Sex: Unknown | Loc. Ventanilla, Lima

white-cheeked_pintail
Age: Adults | Sex: Unknown | Loc. Villa Marshes, Lima

Identification & Behavior: ~45.5 cm (18 in). The White-cheeked Pintail is mainly brown with black spots. It has a distinctive white half of the head and throat. The back is blackish with feathers edged with rusty giving a scalloped effect. The bill in the adult is gray with a coral red base of culmen. Young birds lack the red base of the bill. It is similar to the Puna Teal but is distinguished by a warm brown plumage, by the red on the base of a gray bill (blue in Puna Teal), and by a brown upper half of the head (black in the Puna Teal).

Status: The White-cheeked Pintail is largely restricted to the coastal lowlands where it is the most common duck. It is also local in the department of Amazonas at an elevation of about 2000 m. Records of this species in high Andean lakes appear to be on the rise.

Name in Spanish: Pato Gargantillo.

Sub-species: White-cheeked Pintail (Anas bahamensis rubrirostris) Vieillot, 1816.

Meaning of Name: Anas: L. duck. bahamensis = referring to the Bahamas islands, originating in the Bahamas.

See more of the Family Anatidae   peru aves

Distribution Map
white-cheeked_pintailVoice

References:

    • Species range based on: Schulenberg, T. S., D. F. Stotz, and L. Rico. 2006. Distribution maps of the birds of Peru, version 1.0. Environment, Culture & Conservation (ECCo). The Field Museum.  http://fm2.fieldmuseum.org/uw_test/birdsofperu on 11/09/2014.