Observations on a pair of Torrent Ducks

Abstract

A torrent Duck Merganetta armata armata pair during an austral spring in Chile cooperated in defending a river territory of approximately 1700 m. Although they shared a similar threat display repertoire, territorial birds primarily confronted intruders of the same sex. The pair remained strongly bonded throughout the study and pair bond maintenance activities and copulations were common weeks before and after egg laying. They nested in a large hole in a gravel bank and the female laid three eggs in an old Torrent Duck nest. After the nest was destroyed by a flood the pair prepared to renest.