The pintail duck, like the mallard, is relatively large, and the drake has a long 'pin' tail. On mature birds, this pin tail may be up to ten inches long, but six inches long would be a better average. The female is more brownish in colour than the drake, and is perhaps a bit more drab in colour, and lacks the long 'pin' tail. The drake is a handsome bird, with a lot of white on the underside of the breast area. 

 Pintails are primarily a pacific & central flyway birds, with a few spilling occasionally into the other North American flyways, but in these other flyways, they are a novelty, and prized when taken by anyone lucky enough to harvest one. 

 Too, like the mallard, they are primarily grain eaters in the fall, and field shooting is often excellent. One can also shoot them in typical marsh settings, like mallards. They predominately nest and 'hang-out' in/on the western potholes of the prairie provinces/states of Canada/US. They are supreme as table fare, and, like mallards and wood ducks, are mild flavoured and offer superlative gastronomic eating!