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 have an understated elegance all 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 greatest numbers breed on the prairies and in the western Arctic, where birders can delight in the graceful duck they affectionately call the “Greyhound of the Air.”
Special features:
• Your coin is the latest addition in our popular series of bird coins.
• Your coin captures a moment typically seen during Canada’s seasonal cycle of a pair of migrating pintails.
• Your coin is the perfect gift for a friend or family who enjoys birds or nature.
• Your coin is GST/HST exempt with a limited worldwide mintage.
Design:
Your coin was designed by Canadian artist Trevor Tennant and features a pair of northern pintails which have made the arduous journey home to their Canadian habitat.
Packaging:
Your coin is encapsulated and presented in a Royal Canadian Mint-branded maroon clamshell with black beauty box.
