SHOVELER 97 



SHOYELER. Spatula clypeata (Linnaeus). 



Coloured Figures. Gould, ' Birds of Great Britain,' vol. v, 

 pi. 14; Dresser, 'Birds of Europe,' vol. vi, pi. 425; 

 Lilford, ' Coloured Figures,' vol. vii, pi. 35 ; Booth, 

 ' Rough Notes,' vol. iii, pis. 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. 1 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. 



Voice. The Shoveler on the whole appears to be a 

 rather silent bird ; in captivity I have heard it utter a feeble 

 call-note which may be syllabled uk-uk-uk-uk. 



Nest. The Shoveler builds on the ground, in a tuft of 



1 I 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. 



