White-cheeked Pintail

Like many southern ducks, the sexes are similar, though females are slightly smaller and duller in plumage. It is mainly brown with white cheeks and a red-based grey bill; juveniles have duller bill. The wing has an iridescent green speculum. Like the other pintails, it has a slender, acutely pointed tail, though not so marked as in the northern pintail A. acuta. It cannot be confused with any other duck in its range.

It is found in the Caribbean, South America, and the Galápagos Islands. It often occurs on waters with some salinity, such as brackish lakes, estuaries and mangrove swamps, but also on freshwater pools and lakes. It usually occurs in coastal lowlands, but A. b. rubrirostris occurs as high as 2,550 m in Bolivia.

The white-cheeked pintail feeds on aquatic plants (such as Ruppia), grass seeds, algae and small creatures (such as insects and small aquatic invertebrates) obtained by dabbling. The nest is on the ground under vegetation and near water.

It is popular in wildfowl collections, and escapees are occasionally seen in a semi-wild condition in Europe. A leucistic (whitish) breed is known in aviculture as the silver Bahama pintail.