BIRDS HUNTED FOR FOOD OR SPORT. 



99 



SHOVELLER {Spatula clypeata). 

 Common or local names: Spoonbill; Spoonbill Teal. 



Male. 



Female. 



Length. — 17 to 21 inches. 



Adult Male. — Back dark brown, the feathers paler on the edges; wing 

 coverts Ught sky blue; a green patch on the dark wing preceded by a 

 white bar and bordered above by black; rump and upper tail coverts 

 black; tail white; head and upper neck dark glossy green; shoulders, 

 lower neck, breast, a patch on each side of tail, and vent white; belly 

 and flanks rich chestnut; under tail coverts black; bill long, widened 

 at the end and dark leaden blue; iris orange or yellow; legs and feet 

 vermilion or orange red. 



Female, — Dark and duller; plumage varied with brownish yellow and 

 dusky; bill dull greenish above, orange below; iris yellow; legs and feet 

 orange; head and neck mottled with two shades of brown and speckled 

 with dusky; under parts pale brown or buff; traces of chestnut on 

 belly; wing markings similar to those of male, but imperfect. 



Young. — Similar, but fore wing more gray than blue. Immature males 

 vary greatly. 



Field Marks. — Smaller than Black Duck, male with white breast and rich 

 chestnut belly. Female and young much like Blue-winged Teal, but 

 recognizable by the long clumsy bill much broa,dened at tip. 



