Shovelers 189 



sixty have been killed at a single shot. The Bahama Pintail (D. bahamensis) is 

 another species which is mainly spread over South America, while a still smaller 

 species (D. galapagensis) is confined to the Galapagos Archipelago. These last 

 two, together with the Red -billed Duck (D. erythrorhyncha} of Africa, are by 

 some separated as a distinct genus (P&cilonetta). 



The Shovelers (Spatula) are another well-marked group of Ducks, dis- 

 tinguished at once by the bill, which is longer than the head and expanded at the 

 tip until it is nearly twice as broad as at the compressed base. The upper man- 

 dible overhangs the lower at the tip, exposing the lamellae, which resemble the 

 teeth of a fine comb. The body is proportionally very large, while the legs are 

 quite short. Of the four recognized species the Common Shoveler (S. clypeata) 

 is the best known, being found throughout the whole of the Northern Hemisphere, 

 breeding in North America from Texas to Alaska, and in the Old World in Europe 

 and western Asia. In the male the head and neck are dark metallic green, the 

 breast and outer scapulars white, while the lower parts are uniform chestnut. 

 The speculum is bright metallic green, the bill deep black, and the feet orange- 

 red. The female is similar but duller and more grayish brown; the length is 

 from seventeen to twenty-one inches. This species feeds largely in shallow 

 water and was found breeding abundantly in North Dakota by Mr. Bent. The 

 nests were placed on the broad expanse of virgin prairie, often far away from the 

 water, and were hidden in the thick green grass, the nest proper being a mere 

 depression in the ground, lined with dry grasses and down. The eggs number 

 from six to ten, and though smaller in size are similar in color to those of the 

 Pintail. The Shoveler breeds in many places throughout the British Islands, 

 selecting marshy lands and swampy heaths, and making a nest similar to that 

 described above. 



In southern South America the Red Shoveler (S. platalea) takes the place 

 of the other at the north. It is reddish both above and below, marked with round 

 black spots, and having the lesser wing-coverts blue and the middle ones white. 

 It is met with in small flocks and feeds mostly in shallow water. The other 

 species of the genus are the Cape Shoveler (5. capensis) of South Africa and the 

 Australian Shoveler (S. rhynchotis) of Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand. 



Pink-eyed Duck. Closely allied to the Shovelers is the Pink-eyed Duck of 

 Australia and Tasmania (Malacorhynchus membranaceus), which is characterized 

 by having a soft membrane on the sides of the bill near the tip, and by the pres- 

 ence of two minute spots of rosy pink on the sides of the head, a color very unusual 

 in the plumage of Ducks. It frequents lagoons and quiet pools and is usually 

 seen in small companies of from six to twenty individuals, and betrays very little 

 fear or shyness at the approach of man. 



Wood-Duck. The account of the river and pond Ducks may appropriately 

 be closed with the exquisitely beautiful Wood or Summer Duck (Aix sponsa} 

 and its near relative, the Mandarin Duck (A. galericulata). They are small 

 Ducks, neither exceeding twenty inches in length, with a small bill, which is 

 much shorter than the head, and has a very large, broad nail at the tip. In the 

 adult male the head is crested and the colors throughout are rich and varied. 



