Northern Shoveler

The northern shoveler is a widespread dabbling duck that breeds in northern Europe, across the Palearctic and over most of North America, and winters in areas such as southern Europe, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Central America and northern South America. Its large, spoon-shaped bill is unmistakable in the Northern Hemisphere. Wide and flat, with comb-like lamellae along the edge, it works as a sieve for skimming crustaceans and plankton from the water surface, and the birds favour mud-bottomed marshes rich in invertebrates. Breeding males have an iridescent dark green head, a white breast and chestnut flanks.

About the northern shoveler

The northern shoveler is a medium-sized dabbling duck named for its huge, spoon-shaped bill, which it uses to strain food from the water. A dabbling duck like the mallard, it is common and widespread, breeding across northern Europe, Asia and much of North America and wintering farther south.

Its scientific name is Spatula clypeata. Carl Linnaeus described it in 1758 as Anas clypeata, and it stayed in the big dabbling duck genus Anas until genetic work in 2009 showed that genus was a mix of unrelated lines. The shoveler and nine related ducks were then moved to the revived genus Spatula, Latin for "spoon." The species name clypeata means "shield-bearing."

The bill is unmistakable. It is about twice as wide at the tip as at the base, which is why shovelers are sometimes called "spoonbills." Ducklings hatch with an ordinary duck bill that broadens as they grow.

The breeding male is boldly patterned. His head is an iridescent dark green, less intense than a mallard drake's and often looking black in poor light, set off by a white breast and chestnut belly and flanks. The bill is black or very dark gray. In flight, pale blue patches on the forewing flash above a green speculum edged in white. In early autumn males show a white crescent on each side of the face, and in their dull eclipse plumage after breeding they resemble females except for the blue forewing.

The female is a mottled brown, much like a female mallard, but her long, broad bill gives her away. It is gray with an orange tinge along the edges and lower half. Both sexes have bright orange-red legs. Shovelers measure 44–52 cm (17.3–20.5 in) long with a wingspan of 70–84 cm (27.6–33.1 in), and usually weigh 500–800 g (1.1–1.8 lb).

Behavior and diet

The northern shoveler is a filter feeder. Its bill is lined with long, comb-like lamellae that work like a sieve. The duck draws water into the bill and pumps it out the sides with its tongue, trapping tiny crustaceans, mollusks, insects and larvae, along with seeds and bits of leaves and stems. It often feeds by swinging its bill from side to side through the water.

This specialized bill means shovelers rarely compete with other dabbling ducks for food for most of the year. They also eat water beetles, small minnows and snails. Shovelers take advantage of other birds stirring up food, and a single bird may swim in a tight circle to create a whirlpool that lifts food to the surface. They also upend like other dabblers, often for longer, and sometimes dive in shallow marshes using their wings to swim.

Outside the breeding season, shovelers are less social than some ducks, usually in small groups of up to about 20, though they travel in larger numbers on migration. They are a fairly quiet species. The male gives a clunking call, while the female has a mallard-like quack. Despite their stocky look, they are nimble fliers.

Breeding usually runs from April to June. Males are very territorial, defending their territory and mates, and court with elaborate displays on the water and in the air; a dozen or more males may chase a single female. The female builds the nest on dry ground in a grassy area, forming a shallow cup by twisting her body and lining it with grasses and down. She lays about 9 to 11 olive-colored eggs and incubates them alone for 23–25 days. The male loses interest soon after incubation begins. The ducklings follow their mother almost at once and can fly at 40–45 days old.

Range and habitat

The northern shoveler breeds across large areas of Eurasia, in western North America and in the Great Lakes region. In North America it nests along the southern edge of Hudson Bay and west of it, and south to the Great Lakes and west to Colorado, Nevada and Oregon.

It is strongly migratory and mostly winters south of its breeding range. Wintering grounds include western and southern Europe, northeast Africa, the Indian subcontinent, southern China, Japan, the Malay Archipelago, Central America, the Caribbean and northern South America. Birds heading for India cross the Himalayas, often resting in wetlands just south of the mountains before moving on. In North America, shovelers winter south of a line from Washington to Idaho and from New Mexico east to Kentucky, and along the East Coast as far north as Massachusetts. Vagrants have reached Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

Shovelers prefer open wetlands with some emergent vegetation, such as marshes and wet grasslands. In the breeding season they use shallow pools and marshes with good cover and dry ground nearby for nesting. In winter they turn up on freshwater marshes, swamps and flooded areas.

Northern shoveler vs mallard

Female shovelers and female mallards look very similar, and hunters sometimes mistake shovelers for mallards. The bill is the giveaway.

Conservation status

The northern shoveler is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. In North America it ranks behind only the mallard and the blue-winged teal in overall abundance among ducks. Populations there have been healthy since the 1960s and had grown to more than 5 million birds by 2015, most likely thanks to good conditions on breeding, migration and wintering grounds.

The species is covered by the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) and is protected under U.S. migratory bird law, while also being hunted as a game bird. Hunters have nicknamed it the "neighbor's mallard," supposedly because they give shovelers away and keep the mallards. In Great Britain about 1,300–1,450 pairs breed, but the shoveler is better known there as a winter visitor. Northern shovelers are popular with waterfowl keepers and breed fairly easily in captivity.