336 
The Shoveller 
Market 
Value 
Mr. Witmer Stone records only three occurrences in New Jersey 
since 1888. Eaton says, in his “Birds of New York,” that although 
this species is found in migration in western New York it is seldom 
seen on any of the great ducking-grounds of Long Island. Mr. William 
Brewster, in writing of its occurrence in Massachusetts, declares it to 
be “one of the very rarest of the surface-feeding Ducks.” 
Before the sale of wildfowl was prohibited in New York, it was 
not uncommon to find Shovellers in the markets of its cities ; but these 
were birds that were sent in from either the West or the South. In 
Mexico City, I found them common in the markets, along with Teals, 
Mallards, and Pintails. Where it is possible to sell them, they usually 
bring a fairly good price, although, owing to their small size, they do 
not command as much as the Canvasback, Redhead, or Mallard. In 
the winter of 1915, a gunner offered to sell me a 
pair on the streets of New Orleans for sixty-five 
cents. It was against the law in Louisiana to sell 
or offer for sale these birds, and I am not certain that this man was 
able to dispose of his Ducks before being taken in charge by a game- 
warden. 
On the whole the Shoveller is not only one of our handsomest species 
of wildfowl, but is a very valuable game-bird. The numbers annually 
killed are prodigious, and it is the eighth wonder of the world that it 
has been able to withstand the continuous persecution of gunners to 
which it has been so long subjected. Laws prohibiting the sale of wild- 
fowl have been enacted in a few States within recent years, and bird- 
reservations have been established in regions inhabited by the Shoveller. 
Where sale is prohibited the chief incentive for killing by the market- 
hunter is taken away, and thus one big destructive agency is removed. 
The progress made in both of these directions is too slight to insure 
the perpetuation of the species on our continent, but, as Shovellers are 
still to be found in goodly numbers, and as the sentiment for bird- 
conservation is rapidly growing, it would appear that this Duck has a 
fair chance of persisting among us for a long time to come. 
Classification and Distribution 
The Shoveller belongs to the Order Anseres, Family Anatidce, and Subfamily 
Anatince, Fresh-water Ducks. Its scientific name is Spatula clypeata. It inhabits 
all North and Middle America, and breeds in suitable places throughout its range. 
This and other Educational Leaflets are for sale, at 5 cents each, by the National Association or 
Audubon Societies, 1974 Broadway, New York City. Lists given on request. 
