269 SHORT COMMUNICATIONS ORNITOLOGIA NEOTROPICAL 14: 269–273, 2003 © The Neotropical Ornithological Society A SURVEY OF PERUVIAN TORRENT DUCKS (MERGANETTA ARMATA LEUCOGENIS) ON TWO RIVERS IN PERU Nancy L. Staus 1 & Eugene F. Weast 2 1 Conservation Biology Institute, 260 SW Madison Avenue, Suite 106, Corvallis, OR 97333, USA. E-mail: nstaus@consbio.org 2 991 NW Sycamore Avenue, Corvallis, OR 97330, USA. Reconocimiento del Pato Correntino Peruano (Merganetta armata leucogenis) en dos ríos del Perú. Key words: Merganetta armata leucogenis, Peru, Peruvian Torrent Duck, survey. INTRODUCTION The Torrent Duck (Merganetta armata) occu- pies a large geographic range in the Andean highlands of South America, extending from Venezuela down to southern Chile (Callaghan 1998). One of only four species of anatid river specialists that exhibit year-round territoriality and long term pair bonds (Elridge 1986), the Torrent Duck is ecologically limited to torren- tial mountain streams at elevations generally greater than 1500 m (Johnsgard 1966). Torrent Ducks in the subspecies Mer- ganetta armata leucogenis are found throughout Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador and are considered vulnerable by the Threatened Waterfowl Spe- cialist Group (in prep.). Due to the birds’ scattered distribution and secretive manner, systematic population surveys are lacking and the Torrent Duck remains one of the least known species in the family Anatidae. Base- line information about population density and distribution is vital for successful detec- tion of changes in population over time, and thus for directing conservation management of the species. We conducted surveys for Peruvian Tor- rent Ducks on portions of two rivers in two major drainage systems in northern and southern Peru. Our objectives were to (1) locate river stretches that are used by Peru- vian Torrent Ducks as potential sites for future study; and (2) establish new baseline numbers for monitoring population trends in the future. STUDY AREA There are three major drainage systems in Peru. To the west of the Andes, rivers drain to the Pacific Ocean, to the east of the Andes they drain to the Amazon river (which drains to the Atlantic Ocean), and rivers in the southern part of the Andes drain to Lake Titi- caca. We chose to survey rivers in two of these drainage systems by their ease of access, suitability for Torrent Ducks, and proximity to areas that have been previously surveyed.