Northern Pintail

I did not truly appreciate all of God's creation before starting to post a photo a day. The northern pintail duck is another beautiful example. The male has a chocolate colored head with a white stripe on each side extending up the neck, and a blue-gray bill with a black stripe down the center. The long central tail feathers are what earn this duck the name "pintail"

Yesterday I was certain I had photos of pintails because of the blue-gray bill, but the head color did not match.  I now believe the birds I saw yesterday were juvenile males transitioning to adult plumage. Male plumage, female plumage, breeding plumage, and various stages of juvenile plumage makes bird ID a little maddening!

Many of the migrating pintails using the Mississippi flyway winter in Lousiana and Gulf coast states.