Where’s Wildlife · Bird Field Guide
Northern Shoveler
Spatula clypeata
Pronounced (approx.): SPAT-yoo-luh klip-ee-AH-tuh
A dabbling duck whose oversized bill is useful for straining small food items from shallow water.
Three Identification Clues
The very long bill widens toward the tip into a shovel shape.
Breeding males have a green head, white chest, and chestnut sides.
Females are mottled brown but share the distinctive broad bill.
Field Photographs
Showing 8 of 10 photographs.
Beyond the first impression
Plumage & Identification
Let the bill lead the identification
The bill widens toward its tip rather than keeping the more even outline of a Mallard's. Wait for a feeding bird to lift its head before judging that shape. Breeding males combine a dark green head, white chest, and rich chestnut flanks. [1]
Give the brown birds a closer look
Females carry a broad orange-toned bill and coarse brown mottling. Males between plumages can retain scattered brown feathers. The pale blue shoulder patch is easiest to see in flight, but it is shared with teal; use it alongside the bill, not instead of it. [1]
Life history
How This Bird Lives
Where to look
Study the shallow edges of ponds and marshes, including small, murky pools. A group feeding with heads lowered may be easier to notice than individual colors. The male's white breast can stand out before the bill becomes visible. [3]
Food & foraging
Shovelers sweep their bills from side to side through the water. Fine fringes retain small crustaceans, other invertebrates, and seeds while water escapes. Their broad bill is a filtering tool, not simply a large scoop for catching fish. [2]
A nest beside the wetland
The female shapes a shallow hollow on the ground with her body, feet, and bill, then adds down. Surrounding grasses provide cover; dry nesting ground near the water is part of the habitat too. [2]
The 8–12 eggs incubate for about 22–25 days. Downy chicks can walk and swim soon after hatching. Please avoid entering occupied nesting cover along pond margins. [2]
Did you know?
A Closer Look at Northern Shovelers
A built-in strainer
Cornell describes roughly 110 fine projections along the bill's edges. Called lamellae, they help retain food far smaller than the bill itself suggests. [3]
Circling can help feeding
Groups sometimes swim in circles, stirring food into the water. A circling flock may be feeding rather than performing a courtship display. [1]
Not limited to North America
The species also breeds in Europe, with wintering populations across parts of Europe, Africa, and India. Its North American range map is only one part of a much wider distribution. [3]
Sources: [1] Cornell · Identification [2] Cornell · Life history [3] Cornell · Species overview
Range & Sightings
Seasonal Range
View Range Map ↗Recorded Observations
Observation records are not a complete seasonal range map.
iNaturalist observation map ↗