CEYLON WATER BIRDS. 343 
SPATULA CLYPEATA (Blanford, Vol. IV., p. 452 ; 
Legge, p. 1086). 
The Shoveller. 
Description.—Male in breeding plumage: head and upper 
neck glossy green ; lower neck, breast, and shorter scapulars 
pure white ; the feathers of the back dark brown with paler 
edges ; the rump with the upper and under tail coverts black 
glossed with green ; tail dark brown, the outer feathers edged 
with white ; the wing coverts and outer webs of the two longest 
scapulars pale blue-gray ; the rest of the long scapulars are 
black with broad white shaft-stripes. The wing quills are 
brown; the wing bar on the secondaries is bright green 
bordered by a white bar formed by the outer wing coverts ; 
tertiaries glossy green-black with a whitish stripe along the 
shafts. The lower breast and abdomen are chestnut; the 
feathers round the vent and the upper flanks finely barred 
with buff; a patch of white on the lower flanks. Males in 
undress resemble females, but are more richly coloured. 
Female: feathers of the upper parts brown with broad 
rufous margins; the scapulars and upper tail coverts with 
concentric bands of buff or rufous ; the wing coverts are duller, 
and the wing bar less glossy than in the male ; under parts 
reddish or brownish-buff speckled with brown. 
Bill of male in full plumage black, in females dark brown 
above, lighter underneath ; iris hazel-brown in females, yellow 
or orange in males ; legs orange or red. 
Length 20 ; wing 9°5 ; tail3°75 ; tarsus 1°4 ; bill from gape 3. 
Females are rather smaller. 
Distribution —An occasional winter visitor to the lagoons 
on the north coast ; rare in the south of India and Burma, 
much commoner in the north. It is found over most of 
the Northern Hemisphere, breeding in temperate climates. 
Layard once found a female with nestlings near Jaffna in 
March. 
Habits —This is usually a fresh-water species, found in small 
flocks round tanks and marshes. It nests in dry secluded 
spots in the middle of a swamp. The nest is made of flags 
and rushes and lined with down, the feathers of which are 
9 6(7)17 
