Northern Shoveler Anas clypeata

Identification Tips:

• Length: 14 inches Wingspan: 31 inches
• Large dabbling duck
• Large spatulate bill
• Juvenile similar to adult female

Adult male alternate:

• Alternate plumage worn from fall through early summer
• Black bill
• Eyes yellow
• Green head
• White lower neck, breast, and tail
• Rusty underbody with white band on hind flanks
• Dark back, with elongated white scapulars
• Pale blue upper secondary coverts
• Green speculum with white leading and trailing edges

Adult male basic:

• Similar to adult female

Adult female:

• Eyes brown
• Orange bill with dusky patches
• Mottled brown and buff head, neck and back
• Dusky blue upper secondary coverts
• Dull green speculum with white fore border

Similar species:

Large, spatulate bill makes the Northern Shoveler immediately recognizable in all plumages.

Length and wingspan from: Robbins, C.S., Bruun, B., Zim, H.S., (1966). Birds of North America. New York: Western Publishing Company, Inc.

Above information used courtesy of United States Geological Survey.