RIVER DUCKS 



(142) Spatula clypeata 



{Linn.) (Lat., spoon-shaped; a shield). 



SHOVELLER ; SPOON-BILL; 

 BROAD-BILL. Bill long and twice 

 as wide at end as at base. Plumage 

 as shown, the cP by the upper bird, 

 the 9 by the lower. Easily identi- 

 fied in any plumage by the size and 

 shape of the bill. L., 20.00; W., 9.50; 

 T., 3.00; Tar., 1.35; B., 2.50, width 

 at end. 1.20. Eggs — Six to ten, 

 grayish, 2.10 x 1.50. 



Range — Northern Hemisphere. 

 Breeds from Ind., Texas and Cal, 

 north to Keewatin and Alaska. 

 Winters from Md., 111. and B. C. 

 southward. Casual on the coast to 

 Newfoundland during migration. 



(141. i). RUDDY SHELDRAKE 

 (Casarca ferruginea). rVn European 

 species; accidental in Greenland. 



billed Ducks, are remarkable not only because of the con- 

 trasty plumage of the males, but because of the oddly 

 shaped bills; these are not only twice as broad at the end 

 as at the base, but the "strainers" or serrations along the 

 edges are very prominent, especially toward the base. 

 Such a bill implies that its owner feeds upon " mud-siftings, " 

 and such we find to be the case. They reach the muddy 

 bottoms of shallow ponds by "tipping up" or dabble with 

 their bills along the shore. All forms of moUusks and in- 

 sect larvae are retained and eaten, while the soft mud and 

 water flow from the sides of the mandibles. As usual, 

 when the parents have peculiarly shaped bills, those of 

 young Shovellers are of ordinary duck-shape, not broaden- 

 ing toward the end until after flight. 



Shovellers have a very wide distribution, being found in 

 all temperate parts of the Northern Hemisphere. In 

 England, where they breed sparingly, they are said to usually 

 nest in dry grass fields at some distance from the water, 

 but in America they usually choose swampy, boggy places 



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