PINTAIL-DUCK 181 
all the teeming larva of flies and other insects that 
haunt shallow pools and puddles. 
THE SHOVELLER DUCK 
Spatula clypeata 
Plumage of back brown, becoming black as it approaches 
the tail, which is also black with white edging to outer 
feathers; head and neck black with green metallic lustre ; 
chest and lower parts white; the scapulars, long and pointed, 
are blue and black and white; wing has a metallic green 
bar, the small covert feathers are a very delicate blue-grey, 
and the flight feathers are dark brown; the breast and flanks 
are a brilliant chestnut; legs orange; beak black; eyes 
brown. The female is a dull brown colour with dark spots, 
and its bill often has looked to me even larger than the 
male’s. Length, 20°5 inches. 
Tue outstanding peculiarity of the Shoveller, male 
and female, is the large bill. Seen very near at 
hand it looks both large and clumsy, but it is a bill 
not made for ornament but for business, and carried 
low so that it just sweeps the water. As it swims 
along, a never-ending flow of insect-laden water 
enters it, and filtering through the plate-like 
serrations of the sides, leaves a rich deposit of 
food in the duck’s mouth, and clearly the bigger 
the bill the more the water that can be filtered 
