![]() She herself lays between 9 and 11 eggs per season. The female is the one who builds the nest forming a neat cup by turning her body on the ground. The nests are built on land near fresh water and are constructed with natural materials such as grasses and are lined with feathers. ReproductionĪs for the reproduction of the Spoon-billed Duck species, it usually takes place from April to June. In the winter seasons, breeding birds usually move in a southerly direction and are replaced by an influx of continental birds from the north.It breeds in most regions of Ireland, however the population is very difficult to assess. In the British Isles, home to more than 20% of the northwestern European population of this species, it is best known as winter visitors, although it is seen much more frequently in southern and eastern England, especially around the Ouse Washes, the Humber and North Kent Marshes, and in much smaller groups in the Scottish regions and western parts of England. In North America, these same winter southward along a line from Washington to Idaho and from New Mexico eastward into Kentucky, also along the eastern seaboard as far north as Massachusetts. Those that tend to winter in the Indian subcontinent tend to make the strenuous journey over the Himalayas, often taking a few breaks in the wetlands just south of the Himalayas before proceeding further south to warmer regions. They tend to breed in large areas of Eurasia, in western North America and in the Great Lakes region of the United States. This is a bird species of open wetlands, such as wet meadows or marshes with emergent vegetation. Despite their robust appearance, Shoveler Ducks are agile fliers. So-called drakes also tend to engage in elaborate courtship behaviors, both in the water and in the air it is not at all uncommon for 1 dozen or more males to tend to seek out 1 or the same female. Males are very territorial during the breeding season and will always defend their territory and mates from other competing males. Their nest is a kind of shallow depression in the ground, which is lined with plant material and down. ![]() Shovelers tend to prefer nesting in grassy areas away from the open sea. Therefore, mud-bottomed marshes, which are rich in invertebrates, are their preferred habitat of choice. This adaptation, more specialized in the Shoveler Ducks, gives them an advantage over the other puddles, with which they do not have to compete in such a way for food resources for most of the time in the year. Its broad beak is equipped with a well-developed lamellae species, with small comb-like structures on the edge of the beak that act as sieves, allowing the birds to skim crustaceans and plankton from the surface of the water. They also use their highly specialized bill, from which their name is derived, to forage for aquatic invertebrates, a carnivorous diet. Northern shovelers come to feed by foraging on plants, often in such a way that they swing their bill from side to side and use the bill to drain food from the water. They are usually about 48 cm long and have a wingspan of 76 cm with a weight of 600 kg. The female Spoon-legged Spoonbills are a mottled grayish-brown color like other specimens, with plumage which is very similar to a female mallard, but these tend to be easily distinguished by the distinctive long, broad bill, which is gray tinged with orange on the ridge and lower mandible. eclipse, the drake closely resembles that of the female. Early in the fall season, the male will have a white crescent on each side of the face. In flight, the light blue forehead feathers are revealed, separated from the green speculum by a white border. The brooding duck has an iridescent dark green head, white breast and chestnut belly and flanks. This species of bird is unmistakable in northern hemisphere areas because of its large and distinctive spatulate bill. The specific epithet came to be derived from the Latin clypeata, meaning “shield-bearer” from clypeus, “shield”. The name of the spoonbill is derived from the Latin for a “spoon” or “spatula”. This genus was originally proposed by the famous German zoologist Friedrich Boie in 1822. This genus was later divided into 4 monophyletic genera with 10 different species, including the northern shoveler, which was transferred to the resurrected spoonbill genus. A molecular phylogenetic study that was performed tending to compare mitochondrial DNA sequences published in 2009 found that the genus Anas, as defined below, was not monophyletic. He introduced the binomial name Anas clypeata. The Northern Shoveler Duck was first formally described by the famous Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae. ![]() The conservation status of this bird is Least Concern. The Northern Shoveler is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.
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