2014 Canada 25 Cents Coloured Ducks of Canada Coin The Pintail

The northern pintail is so named for its pin-like tail feathers. These long, skinny plumes accentuate the pintail's slender build. It's an elegant duck, with males typically sporting a chocolate-brown head, a blue-grey bill and a white neck with combinations of black, grey and white along the back, and a blackish-green patch called the "speculum" shimmering from grey wings.
In contrast, the female's colouring is far more muted to provide critical camouflage while nesting, but her bronze speculum and mottled brown feathers havean understated elegance all on their own.
The pintail is a fast and agile flyer. It's one of the first migratory birds to return to its Canadian nesting grounds after wintering in the south. The greatestnumbers breed on the prairies and in the Western Arctic, where birders can delight in the graceful duckthey affectionately call the "Greyhound of the Air