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Anas clypeatanorthern shoveler

By Kelly Johnson

Geographic Range

Northern shovelers (Anas clypeata) has a very broad geographical range. They breed throughout Eurasia and western North America. They are also found in the Great Lakes region of the eastern United States. In winter various populations migrate south to specific locations, scattered throughout north-east Africa, India, Southern China and Japan to Mexico and southern North America. (Soothill and Whitehead, 1988)

Habitat

During the breeding season, Northern Shovelers are found in shallow pools and marshes that have good cover and dry areas nearby for nesting. In the winter they can be found near freshwater marshes, swamps, and flooded areas. (Johnsgard 1965.)

  • Aquatic Biomes
  • lakes and ponds

Physical Description

Males weigh 17 to 38 ounces(470 to 1000g) and their wingspans are usually around 31 inches(227 to 251mm). Females are 17 to 28 ounces(470 to 800g). Northern Shovelers are sexually dimorphic. The males head, neck, and speculum are iridescent green, their chests are white, and the remaining underparts are a bright chestnut. The females are mainly a pattern of buffs and browns. Both sexes have pale blue inner forewings and orange-yellow legs and feet. The most distinctive feature is their large spatulate bill. It is twice as wide at the tip than it is at the base. This uniquely shaped bill gives rise to Northern Shovelers also being called "spoonbills". The ducklings hatch with a typical duckbill that enlarges as the duckling matures. (Goodes and Boyer, 1986; Todd, 1979)

  • Range mass
    470 to 1000 g
    16.56 to 35.24 oz
  • Average basal metabolic rate
    3.9209 W
    AnAge

Reproduction

Breeding usually takes place from April until June. Nests are made on dry land close to fresh water and they are built of grasses and lined with down feathers. The female builds the nest by forming a neat cup by twisting her body on the ground. She lays between 9 and 11 eggs. The eggs are olive colored and 52x37mm. Incubation by the female alone begins immediately after all the eggs are laid and can last 23 to 25 days. (Dobkin, Ehrlich and Wheye, 1988.) (Soothill and Whitehead, 1978.)

  • Range eggs per season
    9 to 11
  • Average eggs per season
    11
    AnAge
  • Average time to hatching
    23 days
    AnAge

The male loses interest soon after incubation starts. The ducklings are born precocial and start following the female almost immediately. Feeding practices and locations are learned during this time. They young can fly after 40 to 45 days and are then independent.

Lifespan/Longevity

Behavior

Northern Shovelers stay in small groups of up to twenty, but they may travel in larger numbers during migration. They are quiet birds that tolerate human presence and can be relatively tame. (Todd, 1979.)

Communication and Perception

Food Habits

A Northern Shoveler feeds mainly by drawing water into its bill and then pumping it out through the sides with their tongue, filtering out minute food particles with long comb-like lamellae that line the edge of the bill. The particles mainly consist of tiny crustaceans, molluscs, insects, and their larvae as well as seeds and pieces of leaves and stems of plants. In addition to the food particles they also eat water beetles, small minnows, and snails. Social feeding is common. The shovelers are drawn to feeding areas by other birds feeding in an area. Shovelers take advantage of the food particles churned to the surface by the other birds swimming or wading in the area. Single birds may swim in a tight circle to create a whirlpool to cause food to come to the surface. Shovelers are also known to upend or dabble, usually for lengthier periods than other surface feeders, and also dive using their wings to swim underwater in shallow marshes. (Gooders and Boyer, 1986, Johnsgard, 1969, Todd, 1979)

  • Animal Foods
  • terrestrial non-insect arthropods
  • mollusks
  • aquatic or marine worms
  • aquatic crustaceans

Economic Importance for Humans: Positive

Northern Shovelers are a game bird. Hunters often shoot them due to their resemblance to mallards. They are often referred to as "neighbor's mallards," because some hunters give them to their neighbors and keep the more tasty mallards for themselves. (Todd, 1979.)

Economic Importance for Humans: Negative

None found.

Conservation Status

The population in North America appears to be increasing. (Todd, 1979,) (Wcmc.org, July 10, 2000.) This species is protected under the U.S. Migratory Bird Act.

Other Comments

Northern Shovelers are very popular with aviculturists, are rather easy to propagate, and can be found in almost any waterfowl collection. (Todd 1979.)

Contributors

Kelly Johnson (author), Fresno City College, Carl Johansson (editor), Fresno City College.

Glossary

Nearctic

living in the Nearctic biogeographic province, the northern part of the New World. This includes Greenland, the Canadian Arctic islands, and all of the North American as far south as the highlands of central Mexico.

World Map

Palearctic

living in the northern part of the Old World. In otherwords, Europe and Asia and northern Africa.

World Map

acoustic

uses sound to communicate

bilateral symmetry

having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.

carnivore

an animal that mainly eats meat

chemical

uses smells or other chemicals to communicate

endothermic

animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.

filter-feeding

a method of feeding where small food particles are filtered from the surrounding water by various mechanisms. Used mainly by aquatic invertebrates, especially plankton, but also by baleen whales.

forest

forest biomes are dominated by trees, otherwise forest biomes can vary widely in amount of precipitation and seasonality.

insectivore

An animal that eats mainly insects or spiders.

iteroparous

offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).

migratory

makes seasonal movements between breeding and wintering grounds

molluscivore

eats mollusks, members of Phylum Mollusca

motile

having the capacity to move from one place to another.

native range

the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.

oriental

found in the oriental region of the world. In other words, India and southeast Asia.

World Map

oviparous

reproduction in which eggs are released by the female; development of offspring occurs outside the mother's body.

sexual

reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female

social

associates with others of its species; forms social groups.

tactile

uses touch to communicate

tropical savanna and grassland

A terrestrial biome. Savannas are grasslands with scattered individual trees that do not form a closed canopy. Extensive savannas are found in parts of subtropical and tropical Africa and South America, and in Australia.

savanna

A grassland with scattered trees or scattered clumps of trees, a type of community intermediate between grassland and forest. See also Tropical savanna and grassland biome.

temperate grassland

A terrestrial biome found in temperate latitudes (>23.5° N or S latitude). Vegetation is made up mostly of grasses, the height and species diversity of which depend largely on the amount of moisture available. Fire and grazing are important in the long-term maintenance of grasslands.

visual

uses sight to communicate

young precocial

young are relatively well-developed when born

References

1999. "United States Endangered Species Act" (On-line). Accessed July10, 2000 at http://www.wcmc.org.UK.

Dobkin, E., D. Wheye. 1988. The Birder’s Handbook. Simon and Schuster Inc.

Farrand, J. 1988. An Audubon Handbook Western Birds. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Book Company.

Gooders, J., T. Boyer. 1986. Ducks of North America and the Northern Hemisphere. New York, N.Y.: Dragon's World.

Johnsgard, P. 1965. Handbook of Waterfowl Behavior. Cornell University.

Robbins, C., B. Bruun, H. Zim. 1983. A Guide to Field Identification. Racine, Wisconsin: Western Publishing Company, Inc..

Soothill, E., P. Whitehead. 1978. Wildfowl of the World. Blanford Press Ltd..

Todd, F. 1979. Waterfowl, Ducks, Geese, and Swans of the World. Seaworld Inc..

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