Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata)

Northern Shoveler (Male), Birding Center, Port Aransas, Texas
Photograph by Alan And Elaine Wilson. Some rights reserved. (view image details)

Northern Shoveler | Anas clypeata photo

Northern Shoveler (Female), Birding Center, Port Aransas, Texas
Photograph by Alan And Elaine Wilson. Some rights reserved. (view image details)

NORTHERN SHOVELER FACTS

Description
In the breeding season, the Northern Shoveler has dark glossy green head, black back, white chest and black bill. The sides and belly are chestnut-brown. Eyes are yellow. Outside the breeding season the head and breast are dark brown speckled with white or tan, and sides are light brown. The female is gray brown overall, and some of the body feathers have light edges. The bill is olive-green with yellow base and edge. The eyes are brown. Juveniles are similar to females.

Size
44cm - 51cm

Environment
open, shallow wetlands, freshwater marshes, saltwater marshes

Food
aquatic invertebrates, seeds.

Breeding
Nest is a scrape lined with down amongst vegetation near water. Lays eight to twelve greenish gray or olive eggs.

Range
The Northern Shoveler is found throughout most of Alaska, southern and central Canada, and most of the United States and Mexico, western Central America, and the Caribbean.

Classification

Class:	Aves
Order:	Anseriformes
Family:	Anatidae
Genus:	Anas
Species:	clypeata
Common Name:	Northern Shoveler

Relatives in same Genus
  Northern Pintail (A. acuta)
  American Wigeon (A. americana)
  Green-winged Teal (A. crecca)
  Cinnamon Teal (A. cyanoptera)
  Blue-winged Teal (A. discors)
  Eurasian Wigeon (A. penelope)
  Mallard (A. platyrhynchos)
  Gadwall (A. strepera)

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Non-Passerines: Water