SHOVELER 97 
SHOVELER. Spatula clypeata (Linnzus). 
Colowred Fiqures.—-Gould, ‘Birds of Great Britain,’ vol. v, 
pl. 14; Dresser, ‘Birds of Europe,’ vol. vi, pl. 425; 
Lilford, ‘Coloured Figures,’ vol. vii, pl. 35; Booth, 
‘Rough Notes,’ vol. iii, pls. 5 and 6. 
The Shoveler is another fresh-water Duck; only when 
the lakes and rivers are frost-bound is it driven to the tide. 
I have seen a few specimens shot on brackish water in close 
proximity to the Bay of Dublin. The beak, disproportion- 
ately large and somewhat spoon-shaped, distinguishes this 
species at once. At a distance the female and immature 
birds in their modest brown attire may be confounded with 
the female Mallard; the former, however, are distinctly 
smaller and appear of a more slender build when seen 
swimming on the water. 
In winter in our Isles the Shoveler usually occurs in 
small parties and when apart from the company of other 
Ducks it is not notably shy. 
Food.—A distinctive characteristic of this bird is the 
manner in which it feeds. When hungry, it darts about 
on the water, skimming or ‘shovelling’ its beak horizon- 
tally on the surface.'. The mouth is kept slightly gaping, 
so that hundreds of small aquatic insects and plants, are 
taken in with the water and entrapped by a fringe of stiff 
bristles which borders either side of the upper segment of 
the beak. This species, in addition, eats worms, slugs, and 
snails, which fact is indicative of its feeding on land also. 
I have been in the company of a sportsman who shot a 
Shoveler just as it rose from the edge of a small pond. I 
examined its mouth immediately after death and found it 
full of thick mud, in which the bird had probably been 
searching before it was disturbed. The flesh is very palat- 
able. 
Flight.—The flight is strong and swift. 
Votce.—The Shoveler on the whole appears to be a 
rather silent bird; in captivity I have heard it utter a feeble 
eall-note which may be syllabled wk-wk-wk-wk. 
Nest.—The Shoveler builds on the ground, in a tuft of 
' T have also observed the Shoveler plunge its. head under water and 
obtain food from the bottom of a shallow pond. When feeding in this 
way it will tilt its body so that the tail points vertically upwards and the 
feet are visible above the surface of the water. 
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