Bird Bird Colorado Field Field Geographic Guide Guide National Ng

The Northern Shoveler ( Anas clypeata ), sometimes known simply as the Shoveler (pronounced /ˈʃʌvələr/ ), is a common and widespread duck. It breeds in northern areas of Europe and Asia and across most of North America, and 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. This species was first described by Linnaeus in his Systema naturae in 1758 under its current scientific name. Usually placed in Anas like most dabbling ducks, it stands well apart from such species as the Mallard and together with the other shovelers and their relatives forms a "blue-winged" group that may warrant separation as genus Spatula .

The Northern Shoveler is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies. The conservation status of this bird is Least Concern.

Appearance

This species is unmistakable in the northern hemisphere due to its large spatulate bill. The breeding male has a green head, white breast and chestnut belly and flanks. In flight, pale blue forewing feathers are revealed, separated from the green speculum by a white border. In early fall the male will have a white crescent on each side of the face. In non-breeding (eclipse) plumage, the drake resembles the female.

The female is light brown, with plumage much like a female Mallard, but easily distinguished by the long broad bill, which is gray tinged with orange on cutting edge and lower mandible. The female's forewing is grey.

They are 19 inches long and have a wingspan of 30 inches with a weight of 1.3 pounds.

Behaviour

Northern Shovelers feed by dabbling for plant food, often by swinging its bill from side to side and using the bill to strain food from the water. It also eats mollusks and insects in the nesting season.

The nest is a shallow depression on the ground, lined with plant material and down, usually close to water.

This is a fairly quiet species. The male has a clunking call, whereas the female has a Mallard-like quack.

Habitat and range

This is a bird of open wetlands, such as wet grassland or marshes with some emergent vegetation.

This bird winters in southern Europe, Africa, northern South America, and the Malay Archipelago. In North America it winters south of a line from Washington to Idaho and from New Mexico east to Kentucky, also along the Eastern Seaboard as far north as Massachusetts. In the British Isles, home to more than 20% of the North Western European population, it is best known as a winter visitor, although it is more frequently seen in southern and eastern England, especially around the Ouse Washes, the Humber and the North Kent Marshes, and in much smaller numbers in Scotland and western parts of England. In winter, breeding birds move south, and are replaced by an influx of continental birds from further north.

This dabbling duck is strongly migratory and winters further south than its breeding range (so far so that there have been four reports in Australia). It is not as gregarious as some dabbling ducks outside the breeding season and tends to form only small flocks.

Historic specimens

No living subspecies are accepted today. Fossil bones of a very similar duck have been found in Early Pleistocene deposits at Dursunlu (Turkey). It is unresolved, however, how these birds were related to the Northern Shoveler of today; i.e. whether the differences noted were due to being a related species or paleosubspecies, or attributable to individual variation.

Footnotes

1. ^ ^{a b} IUCN (2009)
2. ^ ^{a b} Clements, J. (2007)
3. ^ ^{a b c} Floyd, T. (2008)
4. ^ ^{a b c d} Dunn, J. (2006)
5. ^ Linnaeus, C. (1758)
6. ^ AEWA
7. ^ Louchart, A et al. (1998)

References

• AEWA "Annex 2: Waterbird species to which the Agreement applies". Agreement on the conservation of African-Eurasian migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) . AEWA . http://www.unep-aewa.org/documents/agreement_text/eng/pdf/aewa_agreement_text_annex2.pdf . Retrieved 2008-01-13 .  
• Clements , James, (2007) The Clements Checklist of the Birds of the World , Cornell University Press, Ithaca
• Dunn , J. & Alderfer, J. (2006) National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America 5th Ed.
• Floyd , T (2008) Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America Harper Collins, NY
• IUCN (2009) BirdLife International Anas clypeata Downloaded on 08 Jan 2009
• Linnaeus , C (1758). Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio A. rostri extremo dilatato rotundato, ongue incurvo. decima, reformata. . Holmiae. (Laurentii Salvii).. pp. 124. "A. macula alarum rufa nigra alba.."   (Latin)
• Louchart , Antoine; Mourer-Chauviré, Cécile; Guleç, Erksin; Howell, Francis Clark & White, Tim D. (1998): L'avifaune de Dursunlu, Turquie, Pléistocène inférieur: climat, environnement et biogéographie. C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris IIA 327 (5): 341-346. (French)

External links

• RSPB A to Z of UK Birds
• Northern Shoveler Information and Photos at South Dakota Birds and Birding
• Northern Shoveler Information at Cornell Lab of Ornithology
• Northern Shoveler at USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
• Massachusetts Breeding Bird Atlas
• Northern Shoveler videos, photos & sounds on the Internet Bird Collection

Adventure Travel - National Geographic Adventure Magazine

National Geographic ADVENTURE (ngadventure.com) presents the best in ... with Hemingway’s gusto rather than, say, a bird ... Opt instead for a single, comprehensive guide; or ...

...

MyWonderfulWorld: Search Results

The male song sparrow, Melospiza melodia, is angry. He swoops from branch to branch ... bird (2) Bird Runningwater (2) Bird Watching (1) birding (1) birds (54) Birds (1)

...

National Geographic Adventure Magazine: Archive

National Parks 2004 - ... The Adventures of Tim Cahill: Why a little bird is picking ... From the Field: Jon Bowermaster goes into the Altiplano

...

REGION 2 SENSITIVE SPECIES EVALUATION FORM

... Colorado NF/NG Known ... bird atlas. Denver, Co: Colorado Bird Atlas Partnership and Colorado Division of Wildlife. Pp 238-239. National Geographic Society. 1991. Field Guide to the ...

...

MyWonderfulWorld: Search Results

The male song sparrow, Melospiza melodia, is angry. He swoops from branch to branch ... bird (2) Bird Runningwater (2) Bird Watching (1) birding (1) Birds (1) birds (54)

...

Bird Watching

... perfect companion to the NG Field Guide ... National Geographic Field Guide to Birds: Colorado: Informative series of affordable and portable regional bird field guides.

...

The Bird Book Supply Service May

Collins Bird Guide: Birds of Britain ... A Birder's Guide to Colorado by Harold Holt ... Field Guide to the Birds of North America by National Geographic Society. 2002.

...

Field Guide to Birds: New Jersey  - National Geographic Store

These field ID clues note the bird's size, color, beak and wing ... Field Guide to Birds: Colorado $14.95 $11.95 ... National Geographic Field Guide to ... $24.00

...

Field Guide to Birds: Colorado - National Geographic Store

Field Guide to Birds: Colorado ... These field ID clues note the bird's size, color, beak and wing ... National Geographic Field Guide to ... $19.95

...

State Gifts - National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North ...

National Geographic Field Guide to ... for field identification and the cornerstone of any birder's library. This is the ultimate, indispensable bird field guide ... NG Field Guide to ...

...