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The 'Salvadori's Teal' or 'Salvadori's Duck' (''Salvadorina waigiuensis'') is a species of bird native to New Guinea. It is placed in the monotypic genus ''Salvadorina''.
Initially, it was believed to belong to the "perching ducks", a paraphyletic assemblage of species which generally fell between dabbling ducks and shelducks. With the breaking-up of the "perching ducks", it was rather provisionally placed in the dabbling duck genus ''Anas''. It was then reinstated in its own genus and moved to the shelduck subfamily Tadorninae, which also contains the Torrent Duck and Blue Duck which convergently have evolved adaptations to mountain stream habitat. All or some of these species may actually be surviving lineages of an ancient Gondwanan radiation of waterfowl (Sraml ''et al.'' 1996).
It is a secretive inhabitant of fast-flowing streams and alpine lakes between 500 and 3.700m in the mountains. It is one of only four waterfowl species that are adapted to life on fast-flowing rivers, and the sole endemic duck species of the island of New Guinea. The IUCN has listed the bird as vulnerable, and the total population may be slowly declining.
The name commemorates the Italian naturalist Tommaso Salvadori.

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References

★ Database entry includes a range map and justification for why this species is vulnerable

★ 'Beehler', Bruce M., Pratt, Thane K. & Zimmerman, Dale A. (1986): ''Birds of New Guinea''. Princeton University Press, New Jersey. ISBN 0-691-02394-8

★ 'Diamond', Jared M. (1972): AviBirds of the Eastern Highlands of New Guinea. ''Publications of the Nuttall Ornithological Club'' '12': 1-438.

★ 'Kear', J. (1975): Salvadori's Duck of New Guinea. ''Wildfowl'' '26': 104-111.

★ 'Sraml', M.; Christidis, L.; Easteal, S.; Horn, P. & Collet, C. (1996): Molecular Relationships Within Australasian Waterfowl (Anseriformes). ''Australian Journal of Zoology'' '44'(1): 47-58. (HTML abstract)

External links

★ BirdLife Species Factsheet. Retrieved 2006-DEC-02.