SHARP-WINGED TEAL 
ANAS OXYPTERA Meyen 
(Plate 37) 
Synonymy 
Anas oxyptera Meyen, Nova Acta Acad. Leop. -Carol., vol. 16, suppl., p. 121, 1833. 
Querquedula creccoides G. R. Gray, List Birds British Mus., p. 138, 1844. 
Querquedula oxyptera Tschudi, Fauna Peruana, Aves, pp. 55, 309, 1844-46. 
Dafila oxyptera Reichenbach, Synopsis xA.viuin, Natatores, pi. 92, fig. 164, 1845. 
Querquedula angustirostris Philippi and Landbeck, Anales Univ. Chile, Santiago, 
vol. 21, p. 439, 1862. 
Nettion oxypterum Salvador!, Cat. Birds British Mus., vol. 27, p. 262, 1895. 
Vernacular Names 
English: Sharp-winged Teal. 
Indian: Paspa chica. 
DESCRIPTION 
Adult Male: Similar to Anas flavirostris but larger; mantle and scapulars more brownish and less 
gray, with the black areas reduced in size. On the lower surface the dark spots are smaller, more 
brownish and confined to the breast, leaving the abdomen and under tail-coverts nearly immaculate 
pale gray, although the latter may have a buffy tinge. 
Iris brovTi. Bill yellow’ with a black central stripe. Legs and feet grayish. 
Wing 204-225 mm.; bill 33-36; tarsus 37. 
.\dult Female : The plumage appears to be the same as in the male and is not even duller. I have 
found very little difference in the size of the sexes. A series of females from Lake Junin and Lake 
Titicaca have wings from 192 to 215 mm. — only 10 mm. less than in the males. 
Immature Plumages: Not available. 
Young in Down: Two specimens collected at Lake Titicaca, Peru, are remarkably different from 
the young of Anas flavirostris. The white of the under parts extends higher on the sides, particularly 
on the sides of the breast. The color of the upper side is paler, and the wdiite wing-, scapular- and 
rump-spots are more prominent. The dark face-mark is present, but not so prominent, while the 
light face-stripes are correspondingly accentuated. The difference between the young of this and the 
last species is interesting, and rather surprising. 
DISTRIBUTION 
The Sharp- winged Teal is a species closely allied to the preceding, and is found in the Andean regions 
of southern Peru, western Bolivia, northern Chile and northern Argentina. In Peru the range extends 
as far north as Lake Junin (Taczanowski, 1886; Brew’ster-Sanford collection), but it seems to be 
