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Pintails will eat insects but the majority of their diet consists of
native plant seeds(2).They consume small plant seeds
such as millet, smartweed, bulrush, toothcup, panicum, and tubers, such as, chufa nutlers.
Although they consume seeds of all sizes they are very well adapted for harvesting the
smaller seeds. They eat commercial crops with their favorite being rice followed by
barley. Pintails are less likely to eat corn than mallards and widgeons.
The insect portion of their diet is most important during the egg laying
period for the females and the molting period for the males. Pintails prefer to feed in
water that is 4 to 6 inches in depth and rarely use water that is greater than 18 inches
in depth(2). They gather their food by upending in the water (dabbling). |