Northern Shoveler

Population Status
Explore Our Birds & Nature

Northern Shoveler

Spatula clypeata

 

Diet

This duck eats small aquatic bugs, seeds, and plants.

Habitat

Found in shallow freshwater wetlands, well-vegetated lakes, and marshes.

Nesting

Lays 8-12 eggs in a depression placed in short vegetation near water and lined with down and some feathers. Incubation is 22-23 days and fledging occurs at 40-45 days.

Did you know?

When flushed off its nest, a female northern shoveler will defecate on its eggs, presumably to deter predators.

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