Northern pintail
The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae as Anas acuta. The scientific name comes from two Latin words: anas, meaning ‘duck’ and acuta, which comes from the verb acuere, ‘to sharpen’ The male’s long central tail feathers give rise to the species’ English and scientific names. Both sexes have blue-grey...