A medium-sized duck with a distinctive oversized spatula-shaped bill. Males have a green head, white chest, and chestnut flanks. Their bills are lined with comb-like filters for straining plankton and seeds from murky water.
§ Quick facts
§ Encyclopedia
The northern shoveler, often known simply as the shoveler where other related species do not occur, is a common and widespread duck. It breeds in northern areas of Europe and throughout the Palearctic and across most of North America, and winters in southern Europe, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Central America, the Caribbean, and northern South America. It is a rare vagrant to Australia. In North America, it breeds along the southern edge of Hudson Bay and west of this body of water, and as far south as the Great Lakes west to Colorado, Nevada, and Oregon.
Source: Wikipedia — Northern shoveler Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
§ Identification
Field marks. Huge, spoon-shaped bill. Male has a green head, white breast, chestnut flanks, and a pale blue forewing; female mottled brown with the same big bill and blue forewing.
Similar species. The enormous shovel-shaped bill is diagnostic in both sexes; no other dabbler shares it.
Voice. Male gives a nasal 'took-took'; female a quack.
§ Diet & behavior
Diet. Varies by species: aquatic plants, seeds, invertebrates, fish.
Behavior. A dabbling duck with an oversized spatulate bill lined with comb-like lamellae for straining tiny invertebrates from the water; flocks often swim in tight, rotating circles to stir up food.
§ Range
Across North America; breeds north and west, winters south
§ Habitat
Shallow marshes, sewage lagoons, mudflats
§ Threats
Wetland drainage, eutrophication, lead shot ingestion.
§ Conservation status
According to the IUCN Red List, the northern shoveler is currently classified as Least Concern.
§ What helps
Support wetland conservation. Support water-quality protections. Use non-toxic shot.
§ Further reading
- Wikipedia — Northern shoveler
- www.allaboutbirds.org — authoritative profile of Spatula clypeata
- IUCN Red List — search for Spatula clypeata
- GBIF occurrence records
- Encyclopedia of Life — Spatula clypeata
§ Sources cited
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology — All About Birds
- National Audubon Society
- iNaturalist
- IUCN Red List
