46 Birds of Colorado 



Shoveller. Spatula clypeata. 



A.O.U. Checklist no 142— Colorado Records — Aiken 72, p. 210; 

 Henshaw 75, p. 478 ; Coues 77, p. 51 ; Allen & Brewster 83, p. 198 ; 

 Morrison 89, p. 148 ; Cooke 97, pp. 18, 54, 194 ; OG, p. 36 ; Henderson 

 03, p. 234 ; 09, p. 225 ; Warren 06, p. 19 ; 09, p. 13 ; Rockwell 08, p. 158. 



Description. — Male — Head and neck black, slightly glossed with 

 green on the sides of the face and bearing a shght nape crest ; lower- 

 neck, breast, sonxe of the scapulars and the outer tail-feathers white ; 

 Jiower breast and abdomen rufous ; under tail-coverts black ; wing 

 with the lesser coverts hght blue and the speculum green with a white 

 bar above ; the scapulars white, light blue and black ; iris orange, 

 bill black, legs orange. Length 20; wing 10; tail 3-5; culmen 2-7; 

 tarsus 1-7. 



The female is spotted and streaked with dusky, but has the wiAg 

 as in the male though duller. Young birds are Uke the female. 



Tli9 shape of the bill will always distinguish this species in any 

 plumage. 



Distribution. — The northern hemisphere, south to north Africa, 

 soutliern Asia and AustraUa. In America breeding from Alaska and 

 Hudson Bay south to California and Texas, but not in eastern Canada 

 or the eastern United States ; south in winter from the CaroUnas and 

 the Gulf states to Colimi^bia and through the West Indies. 



In Colorado the Shoveller is mainly a migrant though a certain 

 number stay to breed, chiefly in the mountains. Cooke states it is 

 a common resident especially on the western slope, but I have found 

 only a few notices of its breeding — near the south divide of the North 

 Park (Coues), and at San Luis Lakes where Aiken and Henshaw both 

 observed it. At Barr it nests, but less commonly than some of the 

 other Ducks (Rockwell & Hersey). It reaches Loveland from the 

 south IMarch 10th to 20th, and has also been observed on migration 

 in Baca co. (Warren), El Paso co. (Aiken), at Breckenridge (Carter), 

 in Boulder co. (Henderson), and at Orchard (Warren). On the 

 western slope it is rare at Coventry in April (Warren), and not often 

 seen in the Plateau Valley of Mesa co. on migration (Rockwell). 



Habits. — The favourite resort of the Shoveller is a 

 weedy, shallow pool or marsh where it dabbles on the 

 muddy bottom, with its broad bill and head immersed, 

 in search of weeds, insects, snails and Crustacea, which 

 form its food. It is generally in pairs or quite small 

 parties ; it is strong on the wing but has a feeble voice. 



Its nest is placed on the ground near water or some- 



