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Northern Pintail

Anas acuta

Migratory

Found at Neolithic WF16

The Northern Pintail inhabits freshwater marshes, lakes, and rivers with dense vegetation. In winter, it can also be found in coastal lagoons. They are migratory birds occurring in Jordan as winter visitors and passage migrants.

The bones of the Northern Pintail found at WF16 came from wings and date between 12,000 and 10,000 years ago. The Northern Pintail has also been found at sites dating to the Natufian period between 15,000 and 13,000 years ago such as Azraq 18, Jabel es-Saaïdé, and Mallaha. This suggests a long tradition of hunting the Northern Pintail in the prehistoric period within the southern Levant.

Image credit: ‘Northern Pintail’ by Mikes Birds via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0