Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata)

Other Names (World)
Northern Shoveler, Shoveler, European Shoveler, Common Shoveler, Spoon-billed Duck, Shovel Bill, Blue-winged Shoveler

Family
Anatidae (Ducks, Geese, Swans)

Size
46 - 55 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Linnaeus, 1758)

Derivation
Anas - L., duck: clypeata - L., clupeus, a round shield, dubtless referring to shape of the bill

Abundance (Guide)
V

A rare vagrant to Australia.

Habitat
Freshwater billabongs, lagoons and swamps.

Range (Guide)

Afghanistan (NB), Albania (B) (NB), Algeria (B), Anguilla, Antigua And Barbuda, Armenia (NB), Aruba, Austria (B) (NB) (P), Azerbaijan (B) (NB), Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus (B), Belgium (B) (NB) (P), Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina (B) (NB), Bulgaria (B) (NB), Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Canada (B) (P), Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, China (mainland), Colombia, Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], Costa Rica, C�te dIvoire, Croatia (Local Name: Hrvatska) (B) (NB) (P), Cuba, Cyprus (NB), Czech Republic (B) (NB) (P), Denmark (B) (NB) (P), Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia (B) (NB) (P), Ethiopia, Finland (B) (P), France (B) (NB) (P), Gambia, Georgia (B), Germany (B) (NB) (P), Ghana, Greece (B) (NB) (P), Guadeloupe, Guam (NB), Guatemala, Guinea-bissau, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong (China) (NB), Hungary (B) (NB) (P), Iceland (B), India, Iran [Islamic Republic of] (NB) (P), Iraq (NB) (P), Ireland (B) (NB), Israel (NB) (P), Italy (B) (NB) (P), Japan, Jordan (NB) (P), Kazakhstan (B), Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan (B), Laos, Latvia (B) (NB), Lebanon, Liberia, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania (B) (P), Luxembourg (B), Macedonia [The Former Yugoslav Republic of] (B) (NB), Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands (NB), Martinique, Mauritania, Mexico, Micronesia [Federated States of] (NB), Moldova [Republic of] (B) (NB) (P), Mongolia (B), Montenegro (B) (NB), Montserrat, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands (B) (NB), Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Niger (NB), Nigeria, North Korea, Northern Mariana Islands (NB), Norway (B) (P), Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Philippines, Poland (B) (NB) (P), Portugal (B) (NB), Puerto Rico, Qatar, Romania (B) (NB) (P), Russia (Asian) (B), Russia (Central Asian) (B) (P), Russia (European) (B) (P), Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia (B) (NB), Singapore, Slovakia (Slovak Republic) (B) (NB), Slovenia (B) (NB) (P), Somalia, South Korea, Spain (B) (NB), Sri Lanka, St Kitts And Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and The Grenadines, Sudan, Sweden (B) (P), Switzerland (B) (NB), Syrian Arab Republic, Taiwan (China), Tajikistan, Tanzania [United Republic of], Thailand, Togo (NB), Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia (NB), Turkey (B) (NB), Turkmenistan (B), Turks and Caicos Islands, Uganda, Ukraine (B) (NB) (P), United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom (B) (NB), United States Minor Outlying Islands (NB), USA (B), Uzbekistan (B), Vietnam, Western Sahara, Yemen, Zambia.

Vagrant to Australia, Bermuda, Botswana, Brunei Darussalam, Cameroon, Ecuador, Faroe Islands, French Polynesia, Greenland, Guinea, Jamaica, Mozambique, Namibia, New Zealand, Rwanda, Seychelles, South Africa, St Pierre and Miquelon (B) (P), Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands, Venezuela, Virgin Islands (British), Virgin Islands (U.S.), Zimbabwe.

Most of Nearctic and Palearctic, except high Arctic.

South-eastern South Australia, through Victoria to Sydney, New South Wales.

Rarity Status
View Rarity Status Information

Population
Estimated population is 5,500,000 - 6,000,000 (2010).

Status LC
Habitat loss and susceptibility to avian diseases are the main threats.

For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Food
Mostly small invertebrates, including water snails, insects and their larvae and some plant material, such as seeds and leaves of water plants.

Voice
Usually silent. Male utters a soft, hoarse 'took' or 'tool-took took-took'. Female, a soft series of quacks.

Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (20)...)

Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata) [XC501879]
by Jarek Matusiak from Le Plessis-Lastelle, Manche, Normandie, France (song)

Northern Shoveler (Spatula) [XC471481]
by Bruce Lagerquist from Wicken Fen, Cambridgeshire, England, United Kingdom (alarm call, flight call)

Breeding Season (Guide)
Does not breed in Australia. Breeds in Palaearctic and Nearctic regions.

Nest
A scrape or depression on the ground in tall grass, among hummocks, in the open or (rarely) in bulrush marshes. Usually close to water but if grass cover is unavailable it may also nest far away from water under bushes, in hayfields or in meadows. Although not a colonial species, several pairs may nest in close proximity.

Eggs (Guide)
8 - 12; buff, usually tinted green; ellipsoidal. Incubation: about 24 days; by male.

Subspecies
Considered by some to form superspecies with Australasian Shoveler (Spatula rhynchotis).

No subspecies.

Similar Species
Male Australasian Shoveler (Spatula rhynchotis) which has a dark blue-grey head and dark, streaked breast.

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References
See References.

The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9

Files:

JPG files for Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata) - 10 files

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BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

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