Northern Shoveler

This species is defined as a Review Species . Please submit your records of this species via our record submission page .

Scientific Name: Spatula clypeata

Malay Name: Itik-Sudu Utara

Chinese Name: 琵嘴鸭

Alternative Name(s): Shoveller, Common Shoveller, Red Shoveller

Range: Found from Europe to North Africa, temperate Asia and North America, wintering to Equatorial Africa, Indian subcontinent, southern China, Korea, Japan, mainland Southeast Asia, Philippines, Central and South America.

Taxonomy: Monotypic.

Size: 43-52 cm

Identification: Male has long, wide, spatula-shaped bill, dark green head and upper neck, white breast, chestnut flanks and black tail-coverts. Female and juvenile can be easily distinguished from other duck species from the distinctive bill shape.

Habitat: Lakes, rivers, marshes and various wetland habitats.

Behaviour/Ecology: Feeds in very shallow water, using its bill to sift through the mud for minute aquatic animals, plants and seeds.

Local Status: Vagrant

Conservation Status: Least Concern (BirdLife International 2019)

Featured articles:

Past records in our database:

Showing only accepted records. Note that records currently under review are also not displayed, and the list may not be a full list of records of this species in Singapore. For more details, check the database here.

Migrant bar chart (see more bar charts):

Northern Shoveler Spatula clypeata
Average number of individuals by week based on Singapore Bird Database data, Jul 2013 to Jun 2023 (all records)
Early date 01 Nov 1983
Late date 01 Mar 1994
Bar chart not displayed for this species; no records in the given time period.
Last record of this rare vagrant was in Dec 2008. There have been recent records in Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah.
Northern Shoveler (female) at Tokyo Ueno Park. Photo credit: See Toh Yew Wai
Northern Shoveler at SBWR. Photo Credit: Frankie Cheong
Northern Shoveler at SBWR. Photo Credit: Frankie Cheong
Northern Shoveler (male) at Tokyo Ueno Park. Photo credit: See Toh Yew Wai
Northern Shoveler (male) at Tokyo Ueno Park. Photo credit: See Toh Yew Wai
Northern Shoveler (male) at Tokyo Ueno Park. Photo credit: See Toh Yew Wai
Northern Shoveler (female) at Tokyo Ueno Park. Photo credit: See Toh Yew Wai

External Links:

Conservation Status: IUCN Red List Page

Sound Recordings: xeno-canto Link

Wikipedia Entry: Wikipedia Link

eBird Species page: eBird (Northern Shoveler)

References:

BirdLife International. (2019). Spatula clypeata. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T22680247A153875944.en. Accessed on 1 January 2023

Jeyarajasingam, A., & Pearson, A. (2012). A Field Guide to the Birds of Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore. Oxford University Press.

Lim, K. S. (2009). The Avifauna of Singapore. Nature Society (Singapore).

Robson, C. (2014). Field guide to the birds of South-East Asia (Second Edition). Bloomsbury Publishing, London.

RECOMMENDED CITATION

Bird Society of Singapore. (n.d.). Northern Shoveler. Retrieved on November 26, 2023 from https://singaporebirds.com/species/northern-shoveler.

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