PINTAIL-DUCK 181 



all the teeming larva of flies and other insects that 

 haunt shallow pools and puddles. 



THE SHOVELLER DUCK 



Spatula clypeata 



Plumage of back brown, becoming black as it approaches 

 the tail, which is also black with white edging to outer 

 feathers ; head and neck black with green metallic lustre ; 

 chest and lower parts white ; the scapulars, long and pointed, 

 are blue and black and white ; wing has a metallic green 

 bar, the small covert feathers are a very delicate blue-grey, 

 and the flight feathers are dark brown ; the breast and flanks 

 are a brilliant chestnut ; legs orange ; beak black ; eyes 

 brown. The female is a dull brown colour with dark spots, 

 and its bill often has looked to me even larger than the 

 male's. Length, 20 '5 inches. 



The outstanding peculiarity of the Shoveller, male 

 and female, is the large bill. Seen very near at 

 hand it looks both large and clumsy, but it is a bill 

 not made for ornament but for business, and carried 

 low so that it just sweeps the water. As it swims 

 along, a never-ending flow of insect-laden water 

 enters it, and filtering through the plate-like 

 serrations of the sides, leaves a rich deposit of 

 food in the duck's mouth, and clearly the bigger 

 the bill the more the water that can be filtered 



