General

Northern Shoveler: Medium-sized dabbling duck with a white breast, white-bordered black back, and rufous-brown underparts and sides. Head and neck are iridescent green, large bill is black and eyes are pale yellow. Wings have large, pale blue shoulder patches, white bars, and green speculum. Legs and feet are orange. Eclipse male is duller and heavily mottled, has reduced green on head and neck, and dark-saddled orange bill. Female resembles small Mallard hen with oversized bill and orange eyes. Juvenile is similar to female but has gray saddle on bill and dark eyes.

Range and Habitat

Northern Shoveler: Breeds from Alaska and northern Manitoba south to California, Nebraska, and Wisconsin; local and uncommon in the Great Lakes area and the northeast. Spends winters from Oregon across the southern half of the U.S. to the Gulf Coast, north to New Jersey, and south to Central America. Preferred habitats include marshes and prairie potholes; sometimes found on salt or brackish marshes.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"who, who, who", "took, took, took"

Interesting Facts

 The Northern Shoveler was first described in 1758 by Carolus Linnaeus, Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist.

 They are often referred to as the "Spoonbill" or "Spoony" because of their unique spatulate shaped bill, which has about 110 fine projections (called lamellae) along the edges, for straining food from water.

 Socially, they occasionally work together in groups while feeding, rotating like a pin-wheel, stirring up the surface water and skimming it for food particles.

 A group of ducks has many collective nouns, including a "brace", "flush", "paddling", "raft", and "team" of ducks.

Author

Gary Owen Dick

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