Northern Shoveler

Northern Shoveler, male, breeding plumage

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Northern Shoveler, female

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1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

Perhaps the most outwardly distinctive of the dabbling ducks, the Northern Shoveler inhabits wetlands across much of North America. Its elongated, spoon-shaped bill has comblike projections along its edges, which filter out food from the water.

Description

• Medium-sized duck.
• Very long bill, wider at tip than at base.
• Male with iridescent green head, white chest, and rusty sides.

• Size: 44-51 cm (17-20 in)
• Weight: 400-820 g (14.12-28.95 ounces)

Sex Differences

Breeding male is gaudy, with a dark green head, black bill, white chest, and chestnut flanks. Female is subtly colored and patterned overall, in gray, brown, and black.

Sound

Male gives a nasal bray in fall courtship. Female makes various quacks. Also makes a rattling noise, unique among dabbling ducks, upon taking flight.

Conservation Status

Breeding populations appear to be relatively stable.

Other Names

Canard souchet (French)
Pato chucharrón norteño (Spanish)
Shoveler (English)

Cool Facts

• The bill of the Northern Shoveler is about 6.5 cm (2.5 inches) long. The bill has has about 110 fine projections (called lamellae) along the edges, for straining food from water.

• Northern Shoveler pairs are monogamous, and remain together longer than pairs of other dabbling duck species.

• When flushed off the nest, a female Northern Shoveler often defecates on its eggs, apparently to deter predators.

Sources used to construct this page:

Dubowy, P. J. 1996. Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata). In The Birds of North America, No. 217 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and the American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.