It visits South America in the course of its winter migration, and is frequently to be met with in the western countries of that portion of this continent. The extensive collection in all departments of Natural History made by the party under the command of Lieut. J. M. Gilliss, of the U. S. Navy, during the performance of several years’ duty in making geographical explorations and astronomical observations in Chili and other countries of South America, by order of government, and which is now a portion of the National Museum, contains numerous specimens of the bird now before us. We have seen it, in fact, in all the various collections from western South America that have recently come under our notice. Dr. Woodhouse represents this species as very abundant in western Texas and New Mexico. (Sitgreaves’ Report, Zoology, p. 103.) DESCRIPTION AND TECHNICAL OBSERVATIONS. Genus Querquedula. Stephens, Continuation of Shaw’s Zoology, XII. p. 142, (1824.) Size small, bill rather long, straight, of nearly equal width throughout its length, lamellæ well defined, wings moderate, pointed, with the second quill usually longest, tail moderate, pointed, tarsi short, toes fully webbed. Querquedula cyanoptera. (Vieill.) Anas cyanoptera. (Vieill.) Nouv. Dict., V. p. 104, (1816.) Anas Rafflesii. King, Zool. Jour., IV. p. 97, (1828.) “Pterocyanea cœruleata. (Licht.)” Gray, Gen. of Birds, II. p. 617, (1845.) Form. Small; wing rather long, with the second quill distinctly longest; tertiaries and scapulars, long; two central tail-feathers pointed; bill, rather long. Dimensions. Total length (of skin), about 15 inches; wing, 8; tail, 3½ inches. Colors. Male. Top of the head, chin and under tail-coverts, brownish black; head, neck and entire under parts, deep purplish chestnut; abdomen with a large spot of brownish black; back, scapulars, rump and upper tail-coverts, brownish black, edged with dull chestnut; large space on the shoulder and lesser wing-coverts, light sky-blue, succeeded by a transverse band of white, speculum brilliant grass-green; a portion of the two first scapulars blue, and all with a central stripe of pale reddish chestnut. Bill dark; feet yellow. Female. Shoulders blue as in the male, but no trace of the chestnut color which prevails in the latter, that being replaced by a mottled yellowish and brown, very similar to the females of several other species of ducks. Head above brownish black. Hab. Utah, California, Louisiana, Chili. Spec. in Mus. Acad. Philada., and Nat. Mus. Washington. Obs. This very handsome species does not resemble any other species likely to be confounded with it. With other species of Teals, it has been placed in a distinct genus under the name _Pterocyanea_, Bonaparte, in which, however, we fail to perceive sufficient characters to warrant a separation from _Querquedula_.