The Northern pintail duck is one of the most numerous duck species in the world: currently, there are some 5.5 million specimens. These birds live in Eurasia and North America: they are most common in more northern latitudes but can also be encountered in southern Boreal forests, broad-leaf forests, forest steppes, and steppe areas. They live in lakes and rivers that have shore vegetation, fields, and deciduous forests with undergrowth. They can live on their own, in pairs, or in flocks. The mating cry of a drake is a short melodic whistle, the female’s voice is similar to the quack of the domestic duck and mallard, but softer and with a gradual fading.

The Northern pintail flies fast and can easily take off from water without needed extra space. It is a good swimmer but it almost never dives into the water entirely, even when there is danger. It gets food on the surface and in shallow water from the bottom of the lakes and rivers it lives in. It feeds on mollusks, crustaceans, larvae of aquatic insects, as well as seeds, roots and greens of aquatic and coastal plants.

The Northern pintail ducks usually spend the winters in the Caspian sea. They return to their nesting areas in March-April. They head south in September-October. They will normally have one brood of ducklings per season. The nest in grass or on bare ground, normally in the vicinity of water. The clutch usually contains 7–10 yellowish or greenish eggs. Young birds go through puberty in the second or third year. One duck can live for 20–25 years. In the Samara Region, Northern pintails are a rare migratory species that can be seen in some bodies of water during their migration.