Salvadorina waigiuensis, Rothschild & Hartert, 1894

Diamond, Jared & Bishop, K. David, 2021, Avifauna of the Adelbert Mountains, New Guinea: why is Fire-maned Bowerbird Sericulus bakeri the mountains’ only endemic bird species?, Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 141 (1), pp. 75-108 : 93

SALVADORI’S TEAL Salvadorina waigiuensis

This duck was our most surprising addition to the Adelberts’ upland avifauna. It was previously known only from the Central Range, plus three outliers (Huon, Vogelkop and Foja) all much higher than the Adelberts. Our sole sighting was on 6 August 2004, when JD saw a pair on a river at 640 m below Kangarangate. The river at that point was 6 m wide, rushing, dropping, and with many large boulders. As soon as JD reached the river at 09.18 h, one Salvadorina ȱ thatȱ wasȱ perchedȱ besideȱ theȱ riverȱ flushedȱ andȱ flewȱ offȱ downstream.ȱAtȱ09.25ȱhȱaȱpresumablyȱdifferentȱindividualȱappearedȱ9ȱmȱupstream,ȱperchedȱ on a stone 15 cm high next to the river, and occasionally slid its tail rapidly sideways. It swam upstream and reappeared on another boulder mid-river. Occasionally it raised the forebodyȱandȱshookȱitsȱwings,ȱwhichȱappearedȱshort.ȱAtȱ09:41ȱhȱitȱflewȱoffȱupstreamȱwithȱ quickȱponderousȱflaps.ȱNeitherȱindividualȱmadeȱanyȱsoundȱduringȱtheȱobservation,ȱwhichȱ affordedȱ aȱ closeȱ prolongedȱ view.ȱ Theȱ billȱ wasȱ dullȱ yellow-orange,ȱ theȱ speculumȱ inȱ flightȱ green edged white anteriorly and posteriorly. Kangarangate villagers, who refer to this duckȱbyȱtheȱAiti-languageȱnameȱ‘asavi’,ȱstateȱthatȱitȱisȱcommonȱbutȱshyȱandȱproneȱtoȱfleeȱonȱ seeing people, and that it lays many eggs on a rock with much grass near the river.