Northern Shoveler Images

Northern Shoveler Images, Facts and Information:

Spatula clypeata

• Northern Shovelers are medium sized, dabbling ducks with very long bills which are wider at the base. Males in breeding plumage have black bills, iridescent green heads, white breasts and chestnut flanks, they are much duller in nonbreeding plumage. Females are gray-brown with olive-yellow bills.
• Northern Shovelers are migratory in most of their range.
• Northern Shovelers prefer marshes, swamps and prairie potholes but can also be found in fresh and saltwater marshes.
• The diet of Northern Shovelers includes mollusks, tiny crustaceans, fish, aquatic vegetation, seeds and insects.
• Northern Shovelers lay 6 to 19 eggs which hatch in 21 to 27 days, the female incubates and they are monogamous.
• Nicknames for Northern Shovelers include “Spoony” or “Spoonbill” because of the unique shape of their bills.
• Northern Shovelers can live beyond 16 years of age.

I hope you enjoy viewing my Northern Shoveler photos.