Species: Anas clypeata

Northern Shoveler

Species

Birds

Show on Lists

Salish Sea-reliant birds

Terrestrial vertebrates: birds

Encyclopedia of Puget Sound

Classification

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Craniata

Class

Aves

Order

Anseriformes

Family

Anatidae

Genus

Anas

NatureServe

Source:
ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.101986

Classification

Other Global Common Names

Pato Cucharón-Norteño - canard souchet

Informal Taxonomy

Animals, Vertebrates - Birds - Waterfowl

Formal Taxonomy

Animalia - Craniata - Aves - Anseriformes - Anatidae - Anas - See Livezey (1991) for a phylogenetic analysis and classification (supergenera, subgenera, infragenera, etc.) of dabbling ducks based on comparative morphology; one conclusion was that the four species of shovelers are monophyletic.

Ecology and Life History

Migration

false - false - true - Small flocks migrate northward in spring, break up into pairs or small groups upon arrival in nesting areas. Flocks start migrating southward in late August or early September. (departs far north July-August). Present in northern South America mostly October-March (Hilty and Brown 1986).

Non-migrant

false

Locally Migrant

false

Food Comments

Opportunistic forager. Eats seeds of sedges, bulrushes, saw grass, pondweeds, smartweeds, algae, duckweeds, etc; also mollusks, aquatic insects, and crustaceans. In Manitoba, males and females ate primarily aquatic invertebrates during prelaying and laying periods (Ankney and Afteon 1988). Aquatic invertebrates (e.g., water boatmen) may dominate winter diet in some areas. Usually dabbles at water surface.

Reproduction Comments

Breeding begins in late March in the south to early June in the north. Clutch size: 6-14 (usually 10-12). Incubation: 23-25 days, by female (Terres 1980). Young are tended by female, independent in about 6-7 weeks (Harrison 1978). Clutch size may be limited by lipid reserves rather than by protein acquisition (Ankney and Afteon 1988).

Ecology Comments

Large concentrations seen at migration staging areas. Usually feeds in pairs or small groups.

Length

Weight

636

Conservation Status

NatureServe Global Status Rank

Global Status Last Reviewed

1996-11-21

Global Status Last Changed

1996-11-21

Other Status

LC - Least concern

Distribution

Conservation Status Map

Global Range

H - >2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles) - H - BREEDING: Holarctic. In North America, primarily from Alaska east to Manitoba, south to California, New Mexico, Nebraska, western Iowa, locally eastward; also in Eurasia. NON-BREEDING: southwestern British Columbia, Arizona, east to Gulf Coast, coastal Georgia and South Carolina south to northern Colombia (rarely northern Venezuela), West Indies, and Hawaii, rarely north to north-central and northeastern U.S.; also Old World. In the U.S., the highest winter densities occur in the San Joaquin and Imperial valleys and the Clear Lake refuge in California, and the Bitter Lake refuge in New Mexico; winter abundance may vary greatly from year to year at a particular location (Root 1988).

Global Range Code

Global Range Description

>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)

ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.101986