QUEEQUEDULA VEESICOLOE 109 



QUERQUEDULA VERSICOLOR (VieiUot) 



PatO del piCO de tres COloreS, Azara, Pdxaros, Paraguay y la 



Plata, iii, p. 450, 1805. 

 Anas versicolor, VieUlot, Nouv. Diet. d'Hist. Nat., v, p. 109. 1816. 

 CyanopterUS fretensiS, Jardine and Selhy, Illustrations Orn., iv, 



pi. xxix, 1836. 

 Querquedula versicolor, Ahhott, This, p. 161, 1861 ; Dumford, Ibis, 



pp. 41, 191, 1877 ; Sclater and Hudson, Argentine Orn., ii. p. 131, 1889 ; 



Oustalet, Miss. Sci. Cap Horn, Ois., p. 207, 1891 ; Salvadori, Gat. Birds 



Brit. Mits., xxvii, p. 291, 1895. 



Habitat. — Paraguay, the Argentine Republic, and Chili, to Tierra del 

 Fuego ; the Falkland Islands. 



^, Useless Bay Settlement, 20th Sept., 1904. 



Iris — dark brown ; bill — sky blue, upper portion yellow ; legs — grey. 



There is no mention of the Grey Teal by Darwin. 



This bird arrives in the island rather later than Dafila 

 spinicauda, and probably breeds, though I have no certain 

 knowledge of this. I first remarked it in Useless Bay marshes 

 about September loth. It is fairly common, yet not plentiful. 

 Usually it occurs in pairs or companies of five or six. I have 

 never seen it in any considerable numbers, like A. cristata, 

 M. sibilatrix, or D. spinicauda. It frequents streams and 

 pools. It is quiet, retiring, and tame. If put up, it usually 

 flies round and low — not overhead like M. sihilatrix and 

 D. spinicauda. It is sluggish in habit and loath to travel 

 any distance. 



"It is not common in East Falkland," Abbott says, " occur- 

 ring in but few places, but where found is generally seen 

 in numbers." Young birds were brought to him, and, no 

 doubt, it breeds there. 



In the Chupat Valley, Patagonia, Durnford found it rare. 

 During his visit he only saw two, a male and female, which had 

 been shot near the village. In the Province of Buenos Ayres, 

 however, it was very common, many breeding in the neigh- 



