Table of Contents
Overview
Brief Summary
Biology
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Comprehensive Description
Description
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Description of Anas clypeata
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Distribution
Global Range: (>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)) BREEDING: Holarctic. In North America, primarily from Alaska east to Manitoba, south to California, New Mexico, Nebraska, western Iowa, locally eastward; also in Eurasia. NON-BREEDING: southwestern British Columbia, Arizona, east to Gulf Coast, coastal Georgia and South Carolina south to northern Colombia (rarely northern Venezuela), West Indies, and Hawaii, rarely north to north-central and northeastern U.S.; also Old World. In the U.S., the highest winter densities occur in the San Joaquin and Imperial valleys and the Clear Lake refuge in California, and the Bitter Lake refuge in New Mexico; winter abundance may vary greatly from year to year at a particular location (Root 1988).
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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)
Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native ); palearctic (Native ); oriental (Native )
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National Distribution
Canada
Origin: Native
Regularity: Regularly occurring
Currently: Present
Confidence: Confident
Type of Residency: Year-round
United States
Origin: Native
Regularity: Regularly occurring
Currently: Present
Confidence: Confident
Type of Residency: Year-round
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Range
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Physical Description
Morphology
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.
Average basal metabolic rate: 3.9209 W.
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Size
Ecology
Habitat
Habitat and Ecology
Systems
- Terrestrial
- Freshwater
- Marine
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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.)
Terrestrial Biomes: savanna or grassland ; forest
Aquatic Biomes: lakes and ponds
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Water temperature and chemistry ranges based on 1 sample.
Environmental ranges
Depth range (m): 0 - 0
Temperature range (°C): 10.275 - 10.275
Nitrate (umol/L): 7.182 - 7.182
Salinity (PPS): 33.744 - 33.744
Oxygen (ml/l): 6.451 - 6.451
Phosphate (umol/l): 0.514 - 0.514
Silicate (umol/l): 4.619 - 4.619
Note: this information has not been validated. Check this *note*. Your feedback is most welcome.
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Comments: BREEDING: Shallow, often muddy, fresh-water areas with surrounding cover. Ponds, marshes, sloughs, and creeks. Nests near shallow freshwater lake, pond, marsh, etc. Nests on the ground, usually near edge of water. The nest is a hollow lined with plant material and down. NON-BREEDING: In migration and winter in both freshwater and brackish habitats, and in cultivated fields (not typical) (AOU 1983).
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Habitat
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Migration
Non-Migrant: No. All populations of this species make significant seasonal migrations.
Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make local extended movements (generally less than 200 km) at particular times of the year (e.g., to breeding or wintering grounds, to hibernation sites).
Locally Migrant: Yes. At least some populations of this species make annual migrations of over 200 km.
Small flocks migrate northward in spring, break up into pairs or small groups upon arrival in nesting areas. Flocks start migrating southward in late August or early September. (departs far north July-August). Present in northern South America mostly October-March (Hilty and Brown 1986).
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Trophic Strategy
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
Foraging Behavior: filter-feeding
Primary Diet: carnivore (Insectivore , Eats non-insect arthropods, Molluscivore )
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Comments: Opportunistic forager. Eats seeds of sedges, bulrushes, saw grass, pondweeds, smartweeds, algae, duckweeds, etc; also mollusks, aquatic insects, and crustaceans. In Manitoba, males and females ate primarily aquatic invertebrates during prelaying and laying periods (Ankney and Afteon 1988). Aquatic invertebrates (e.g., water boatmen) may dominate winter diet in some areas. Usually dabbles at water surface.
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General Ecology
Large concentrations seen at migration staging areas. Usually feeds in pairs or small groups.
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Life History and Behavior
Life Expectancy
Lifespan/Longevity
Average lifespan
Status: wild: 223 months.
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Lifespan, longevity, and ageing
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Reproduction
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 time to hatching: 23 days.
Average eggs per season: 11.
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.
Parental Investment: precocial
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Breeding begins in late March in the south to early June in the north. Clutch size: 6-14 (usually 10-12). Incubation: 23-25 days, by female (Terres 1980). Young are tended by female, independent in about 6-7 weeks (Harrison 1978). Clutch size may be limited by lipid reserves rather than by protein acquisition (Ankney and Afteon 1988).
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Molecular Biology and Genetics
Molecular Biology
Barcode data: Anas clypeata
There are 18 barcode sequences available from BOLD and GenBank. Below is a sequence of the barcode region Cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI or COX1) from a member of the species. See the BOLD taxonomy browser for more complete information about this specimen and other sequences.
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Download FASTA File
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Statistics of barcoding coverage: Anas clypeata
Public Records: 18
Species: 23
Species With Barcodes: 1
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Conservation
Conservation Status
IUCN Red List Assessment
Red List Category
Red List Criteria
Version
Year Assessed
Assessor/s
Reviewer/s
Contributor/s
Justification
History
- 2008Least Concern
- 2004Least Concern
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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.
US Migratory Bird Act: protected
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
State of Michigan List: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
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Status in Egypt
Regular passage visitor and winter visitor.
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National NatureServe Conservation Status
Canada
Rounded National Status Rank: N4N,N5B : N4N: Apparently Secure - Nonbreeding, N5B: Secure - Breeding
United States
Rounded National Status Rank: N5B,N5N : N5B: Secure - Breeding, N5N: Secure - Nonbreeding
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NatureServe Conservation Status
Rounded Global Status Rank: G5 - Secure
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Status
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Threats
Threats
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Threats
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Management
Restoration Potential: No difference between natural and restored wetlands in pair counts over two years in Iowa (Dubowy 1996).
Management Requirements: See Barker et al. (1990) for information on the effects of different livestock grazing systems on nesting success in North Dakota.
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Conservation
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Relevance to Humans and Ecosystems
Benefits
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
None found.
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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.)
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Wikipedia
Northern Shoveler
The Northern Shoveler (
/ˈʃʌvələr/; Anas clypeata), Northern Shoveller in British English, sometimes known simply as the Shoveler, is a common and widespread duck. It breeds in northern areas of Europe and Asia and across most of North America,[2] wintering in southern Europe, Africa, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and Central and northern South America. It is a rare vagrant to Australia. In North America, it breeds along the southern edge of Hudson Bay and west of this body of water, and as far south as the Great Lakes west to Colorado, Nevada, and Oregon.[3][4]
The Northern Shoveler is sometimes referred to by hunters as the "spoony". Other disparaging names, as compared to the mallard, are the "smiling mallard" and the "Poor Man's Mallard".[5]
The Northern Shoveler is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.[6] The conservation status of this bird is Least Concern.[1]
Contents |
Taxonomy
This species was described by Linnaeus in his Systema naturae in 1758 under its current scientific name.[7] Usually placed in Anas like most dabbling ducks, it stands well apart from such species as the Mallard and together with the other shovelers and their relatives forms a "blue-winged" group that may warrant separation as genus Spatula.
No living subspecies are accepted today. Fossil bones of a very similar duck have been found in Early Pleistocene deposits at Dursunlu, Turkey. It is unresolved, however, how these birds were related to the Northern Shoveler of today; i.e., whether the differences noted were due to being a related species or paleosubspecies, or attributable to individual variation.[8]
Description
-_Draining_out_excess_water_after_bath_I_IMG_1016.jpg)
This species is unmistakable in the northern hemisphere due to its large spatulate bill. The breeding drake has an iridescent dark green head,[5] white breast and chestnut belly and flanks. In flight, pale blue forewing feathers are revealed, separated from the green speculum by a white border. In early fall the male will have a white crescent on each side of the face.[4] In non-breeding (eclipse) plumage, the drake resembles the female.
The female is a drab mottled brown like other dabblers,[5] with plumage much like a female Mallard, but easily distinguished by the long broad bill, which is gray tinged with orange on cutting edge and lower mandible.[4] The female's forewing is gray.
They are 19 inches (48 cm) long and have a wingspan of 30 inches (76 cm) with a weight of 600 grams (1.3 lb).[3]
Behavior
Northern Shovelers feed by dabbling for plant food, often by swinging its bill from side to side and using the bill to strain food from the water. They use their highly specialized bill (from which their name is derived) to forage for aquatic invertebrates – a carnivorous diet. Their wide-flat bill is equipped with well-developed lamellae – small, comb-like structures on the edge of the bill that act like sieves, allowing the birds to skim crustaceans and plankton from the water's surface. This adaptation, more specialized in shovelers, gives them an advantage over other puddle ducks, with which they do not have to compete for food resources during most of the year. Thus, mud-bottomed marshes rich in invertebrate life are their habitat of choices.[5]
The shoveler prefers to nest in grassy areas away from open water. Their nest is a shallow depression on the ground, lined with plant material and down. Hens typically lay about nine eggs. The drakes are very territorial during breeding season and will defend their territory and partners from competing males. Drakes also engage in elaborate courtship behaviors, both on the water and in the air; it is not uncommon for a dozen or more males to pursue a single hen. Despite their stout appearance, shovelers are nimble fliers.[5]
This is a fairly quiet species. The male has a clunking call, whereas the female has a Mallard-like quack.
Habitat and range
This is a bird of open wetlands, such as wet grassland or marshes with some emergent vegetation.
This bird winters in southern Europe, Africa, the Indian Subcontinent, northern South America, and the Malay Archipelago.[2] Those wintering in the Indian Subcontinent make the taxing journey over the Himalayas, often taking a break in wetlands just south of the Himalaya before continuing further south to warmer regions. In North America it winters south of a line from Washington to Idaho and from New Mexico east to Kentucky, also along the Eastern Seaboard as far north as Massachusetts.[3][4] In the British Isles, home to more than 20% of the North Western European population, it is best known as a winter visitor, although it is more frequently seen in southern and eastern England, especially around the Ouse Washes, the Humber and the North Kent Marshes, and in much smaller numbers in Scotland and western parts of England. In winter, breeding birds move south, and are replaced by an influx of continental birds from further north. It breeds across most of Ireland, but in very small numbers.
This dabbling duck is strongly migratory and winters further south than its breeding range (so far so that there have been four reports in Australia).[citation needed] It is not as gregarious as some dabbling ducks outside the breeding season and tends to form only small flocks. Among North America's duck species, northern shovelers trail only mallards and blue-winged teal in overall abundance. Their populations have been healthy since the 1960s, and have soared in recent years to more than 4 million birds (2011), most likely because of favorable breeding, migration, and wintering habitat conditions.[5]
Gallery
Pair - Scotland Heights Waterfowl Park
Male - Scotland Heights Waterfowl Park
Male - Scotland Heights Waterfowl Park
Female - Scotland Heights Waterfowl Park
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Footnotes
References
- "Annex 2: Waterbird species to which the Agreement applies". Agreement on the conservation of African-Eurasian migratory Waterbirds (AEWA). AEWA. http://www.unep-aewa.org/documents/agreement_text/eng/pdf/aewa_agreement_text_annex2.pdf. Retrieved 2008-01-13.
- Clements, James, (2007) The Clements Checklist of the Birds of the World, Cornell University Press, Ithaca
- Dunn, J. & Alderfer, J. (2006) National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America 5th Ed.
- Floyd, T (2008) Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America Harper Collins, NY
- IUCN (2009) BirdLife International Anas clypeata Downloaded on 08 Jan 2009
- Linnaeus, C (1758). Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata. Holmiae. (Laurentii Salvii). pp. 124. "A. macula alarum rufa nigra alba." (Latin)
- Louchart, Antoine; Mourer-Chauviré, Cécile; Guleç, Erksin; Howell, Francis Clark & White, Tim D. (1998): L'avifaune de Dursunlu, Turquie, Pléistocène inférieur: climat, environnement et biogéographie. C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris IIA 327(5): 341-346.doi:10.1016/S1251-8050(98)80053-0(French)
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Names and Taxonomy
Taxonomy
Comments: See Livezey (1991) for a phylogenetic analysis and classification (supergenera, subgenera, infragenera, etc.) of dabbling ducks based on comparative morphology; one conclusion was that the four species of shovelers are monophyletic.
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