336 The Shoveller 



Mr. Witmer Stone records only three occurrences in New Jersey 

 since 1888. Eaton says, in his "Birds of New York," that although 

 this species is found in migration in western New York it is seldom 

 seen on any of the great ducking-grounds of Long Island. Mr. William 

 Brewster, in writing of its occurrence in Massachusetts, declares it to 

 be "one of the very rarest of the surface-feeding Ducks." 



Before the sale of wildfowl was prohibited in New York, it was 

 not uncommon to find Shovellers in the markets of its cities ; but these 

 were birds that were sent in from either the West or the South. In 

 Mexico City, I found them common in the markets, along with Teals, 

 Mallards, and Pintails. Where it is possible to sell them, they usually 

 bring a fairly good price, although, owing to their small size, they do 

 not command as much as the Canvasback, Redhead, or Mallard. In 

 the winter of 1915, a gunner offered to sell me a 



v ar . et pair on the streets of New Orleans for sixty-five 



cents. It was against the law in Louisiana to sell 

 or offer for sale these birds, and I am not certain that this man was 

 able to dispose of his Ducks before being taken in charge by a game- 

 warden. 



On the whole the Shoveller is not only one of our handsomest species 

 of wildfowl, but is a very valuable game-bird. The numbers annually 

 killed are prodigious, and it is the eighth wonder of the world that it 

 has been able to withstand the continuous persecution of gunners to 

 which it has been so long subjected. Laws prohibiting the sale of wild- 

 fowl have been enacted in a few States within recent years, and bird- 

 reservations have been established in regions inhabited by the Shoveller. 

 Where sale is prohibited the chief incentive for killing by the market- 

 hunter is taken away, and thus one big destructive agency is removed. 

 The progress made in both of these directions is too slight to insure 

 the perpetuation of the species on our continent, but, as Shovellers are 

 still to be found in goodly numbers, and as the sentiment for bird- 

 conservation is rapidly growing, it would appear that this Duck has a 

 fair chance of persisting among us for a long time to come. 



Classification and Distribution 



The Shoveller belongs to the Order Anseres, Family Anatida, and Subfamily 

 Anatincc, Fresh-water Ducks. Its scientific name is Spatula clypeata. It inhabits 

 all North and Middle America, and breeds in suitable places throughout its range. 



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