Harteman Wildfowl Aviaries
Yellow-billed pintail
Anas georgica
Top image: South Georgia pintail, Anas g. georgica
Above: Chilean pintail, Anas g. spinicauda
The yellow-billed pintail (Anas georgica) is devided in two distinctive subspecies, both from South America: the bigger Chilean pintail (Anas georgica spinicauda) from the mainland and the smaller South Georgia pintail (Anas georgica georgica) endemic to the South Georgia Islands.
In our collection we keep the subspecies Anas georgica georgica. South Georgia pintails are very rare in aviculture and not many collections breed them. Therefore we are happy we breed these birds so we can try our best to preserve an ex-situ population for the future.
South Georgia pintail, a distinctive and endemice bird from the remote South Georgia Islands
The South Georgia pintail is a small duck that is endemic to one of the remotest places on earth: South Georgia Island, in the southern Atlantic Ocean, 1300 km away from the Falkland Islands of South America.
The South Georgia pintail (Anas georgica georgica) is closely related to the Chilean pintail (Anas georgica spinicauda) from the South American mainland. And although the birds originate from the small 165 km long and 35 km wide island, these birds are kept and bred in both European and American aviaries.
Still, South Georgia pintails are very rare in aviculture and not many collections breed them. Therefore we are happy we breed these birds so we can try our best to preserve an ex-situ population for the future.
After the importation of 17 birds in three separate groups over four decades, the South Georgia pintail was well established in captivity in the early 2000's. But did you know the captive flock of South Georgia pintails originally descended from one single breeding pair? Reproductive success diminished with successive generations, probably because of inbreeding. Breeding success markedly improved after the introduction of 12 new birds from the wild in 1998. With appropriate care and management, this taxon will breed prolifically.
The genetic diversity of the captive flock in 2002 was probably adequate for the maintenance of a healthy population in the short and medium term. The wild population is small and vulnerable to natural and anthropogenic threats, so a backup captive population might be useful for the future (2002, A. R. Martin).
South Georgia pintails are omnivorous and feed by foraging along shores, dabbling for shrimp or clams, and sometimes even feeding on the carcasses of animals like seals and penguins. There is actually only one clear photo of a South Georgia pintail feeding on a fur seal carcass, taken by Ben Osborne. When Frank Todd observed this distinctly unducklike behaviour, he naturally assumed that the ducks were preying on scavenging invertebrates.
Above: South Georgia pintails (male left, female right) in our aviary.
Above: Duckling of a South Georgia pintail (2024).
Above: Chilean pintails at a private collection (2016)
Above: Chilean pintail (top) and South Georgia pintail (bottom) in one frame, in private collection (2016).
Above: a possible hybrid Anas laysanensis X Anas georgica.
Above: Chilean pintail at P. Kooy & Sons breeding farm, 2006
Above: Chilean pintail at Sylvan Heights Bird Park (2005).
Above: One day old South Georgia pintail duckling (2023).
Above: South Georgia pintail duckling, 25 days old (2023).
Above: Top bird Chilean pintail, left bird South Georgia pintail, right bird Laysan teal.
Above: South Georgia pintails at Sylvan Heights Bird Park (2005).
Above: Hidden in plain sight, a South Georgia's nest in Pampas grass.
Above: Egg of a South Georgia pintail (2024)
Above: Head close-up of a South Georgia pintail duckling (2024).
Above: South Georgia pintails
Above: South Georgia pintails
