< Back | Name: | Northern Shoveler | | Family: | Dabbling Ducks | | Scientific Name:
| Anas Clypeata | | Description: | A large, spoon-shaped bill marks this medium-sized duck. The male has an iridescent green head much like a mallard’s, with a white chest and rusty sides. Female is brownish gray and similar to a female mallard except for its smaller size and large bill. Also known as “spoonbill.” | | Habit: | Prefers natural wetlands and flooded agricultural fields. Shovelers’ large bills have comb-like projections that strain small invertebrates and seeds from water. Females lay 8-12 eggs in a depression lined with down and vegetation in the north-central U.S. and Canada’s Prairie Pothole Region. The nest is almost surrounded by taller vegetation and is very close to water. | |
State Occurrence:
| Wetlands across the state during winter but most common in the Mississippi River Delta. |
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Click Photo to Enlarge USFWS Male | Click Photo to Enlarge USFWS Female |
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