ANDEAN TEAL 
ANAS ANDIUM (P. L. Sclater and Salvin) 
(Plate 37) 
Synonymy 
Querquedula andium P. L. Sclater and Salvin, Nomenclator Avium Neotrop., pp. 
129, 162, 1873. 
Nettion andium Salvadori, Cat. Birds British Mus., vol. 27, p. 263, 1895. 
Veenaculak Name 
English: Andean Teal. 
DESCRIPTION 
Adult Male; Closely resembles Anas jlavirostris but is larger. The mantle and scapulars are darker 
and more uniform, and the light edges of the feathers are reduced and darker. The breast is coarsely 
mottled, or barred, and never has the clearly defined round spots. The wing is the same. 
Iris brown. Bill lead-blue instead of yellow and black. Legs and feet pale leaden blue with the 
joints dusky color. I can find no reference to flesh-colored legs as reported by Salvadori. 
Compared with the Brown Pintail, this Teal has a more darkly spotted head, but there is a general 
resemblance, particularly in the lower surface. The wing of the Andean Teal has the same general 
speculum and wing-plan, and the central tail-feathers are acuminate. The upper surface is darker 
and the long scapulars lack the broad, light edges seen in the Brown Pintail. 
Wing 214-230 mm.; bill 40; tarsus 38. 
Adult Female : Plumage the same except that the breast spotting is rather less pronounced. 
Wing 205-217 mm. 
Young in Down; Not examined. 
DISTRIBUTION 
This species, which is closely related to the Yellow-billed and Sharp-winged Teal, is found in similar 
localities, but farther north. Its home is in the high Andes of Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela. 
Fraser took a specimen between Riobamba and Mocha (P. L. Sclater and Salvin, 1876) and two 
others were taken near Quito (ibid.). The British Museum possesses others from Sical and the 
Rio Blanco, Ecuador; and the American Museum of Natural History in New York has a specimen 
from Antisana. Chubb (1919) has recorded a pair taken at Sinche Guaranda (altitude 4000 meters). 
Ldnnberg and Rendahl (1922) obtained specimens at Pedregal on the north side of Cotopaxi and at 
Lake Mica Antisana. 
Only a few specimens have been taken in Colombia. F. M. Chapman (1917) took one near Santa 
Isabel and the American Museum has another from Bogota. Mr. M. A. Carriker has taken specimens 
with young in the Sierra Nevada de Chita (Boyaca district) and these are now in the Museum of 
Comparative Zoology at Cambridge. 
This Teal has only once or twice been taken in Venezuela. Goering obtained specimens in the 
