Puna Teal Spatula puna Scientific name definitions

Puna Teal is a striking dabbling duck of the mountains in South America.  Previously considered conspecific with the buff-cheeked Silver Teal (Anas versicolor), Puna Teal is brown and gray barred with a dark cap, white cheeks and a bright blue bill.  Both sexes share similar plumage features, though males are larger than females. The species is found on lakes at high elevation in the Andes from Peru south to Chile and Argentina.

48–51 cm; male 546–560 g (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Easily identified in range by striking head and bill  patterns (usually no overlap with similar, and formerly conspecific, S. versicolor). Male has blackish-brown cap, separated from pale buff cheeks, neck and breast buff with small black spots that become bars on lower flanks and belly, rump and tail-coverts largely appears plain grey, upperwing-coverts dull slaty blue, greater secondary-coverts tipped white, speculum iridescent green with posterior black and white bars  , underwing banded with grey; bill  pale blue, with black nail and culmen, legs and feet greyish, eyes brown; has no eclipse plumage. Female  duller and has less distinctly barred flanks. Juvenile duller with less iridescent speculum; head less contrastingly patterned. Single record of leucism in this species (2 Venero G., J.L. (2014). Leucismo en Pato Puna (Anas puna) en la laguna de Huaypo, Cuzco – Perú. Bol. UNOP. 9(3): 32–35. Close ). Compared to nominate S. versicolor (allopatric ranges) <em>S. puna</em> is much larger, with wing of male 215–235 mm (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ) and lacks yellow on relatively long bill (in male 47–53 mm, versus 37–41 mm in male nominate) (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ), as well as several, less obvious, plumage differences (see Taxonomy comments).

Andean C Peru (from S Amazonas (4 Mark, T., Augustine, L., Barrio, J., Flanagan, J. and Vellinga, W.P. (2008). New records of birds from the northern Cordillera Central of Peru in a historical perspective. Cotinga 29: 108–125. Close ) ) S to N Chile (Antofagasta) and extreme NW Argentina.

Prefers weakly alkaline wetlands with abundant floating vegetation , especially Chara (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ), up to 4600 m altitude.

Mainly sedentary, but some altitudinal shifts of high Andes birds, appearing in lowlands outside breeding season, rarely on coast in Peru (5 Schulenberg, T. S., D. F. Stotz, D. F. Lane, J. P. O’Neill, and T. A. Parker (2007). Birds of Peru. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, USA. Close ).

No known differences from S. versicolor.

Compared to S. versicolor (which see), “Decrescendo” call comprises just 4–5 weaker notes, and other calls may also differ; reported are a low, chatting “hueer, pt pt pt...”, a mechanical, rising “trrrrr” or “dr-r-r” and, in alarm, a low “whr” or “errr” (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ).

Season Jul and Sept–Mar (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Male to some extent polygamous, pursuing additional females and forcing extra-pair copulations, but extent of such behaviour not well known and at least some pair-bonds are long-term (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). In single pairs or loose groups; nests on ground in rough vegetation. Clutch 5–6 eggs, size 52–63 mm × 37–42 mm, mean mass (in captivity) 44·4 g (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ); incubation 25–26 days (captivity), by female alone (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ); chicks have brown down above  , greyish white below, with pairs of white dorsal spots on wings and sides, narrow back eyestripe reaching nape, greyish-blue bill (larger than that of young S. versicolor), mean weight on hatching c. 25 g (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ); no data on fledging period, but male also accompanies brood and defends female during this period (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Probably breeds at one year old (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). No further information.

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Comparatively few published data on population size, though overall numbers speculated to be in the region of 100,000–1,000,0000 individuals early in the present millenium (6 Delaney, S. and D. Scott, Editors (2002). Waterbird Population Estimates. Third edition. Wetlands International Global Series No. 12. Wageningen, the Netherlands. Close ). Somewhat local, but generally common within its range; notable count of 50,000 in L Junín, Peru, in late 1970s. Under certain amount of pressure from hunting, but the species’ habitat is probably largely free of disturbance.