The white-cheeked pintail is found in the Caribbean Islands, the Galapagos Islands and much of the coast of South America and inland in the southern half of South America, primarily in Argentina. It is brown with white cheeks and a black bill with a red base. It has three subspecies: (a) the lesser Bahama pintail is found in the Caribbean Islands and occasionally makes it to southern Florida; (b) the greater Bahama pintail is found in South America, wintering in Argentina and breeding further north; and (c) the Galapagos pintail is endemic to the Galapagos Islands where it is fairly common.
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| White-cheeked pintails in the Santa Cruz Highlands. |
I saw them two times. The first was an inland pond in the Santa Cruz Highlands and the second was in a pond about 50 yards inland from Bachas Beach on the northern end of Santa Cruz.
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| Bachas Beach on Santa Cruz Island. |
That teal stripe that you can see on the open wing is intriguing.
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