Aust birds    Bird names   News   1-26    Habitats    Key plants    Glossary    Plumage    Nests    Tips    Thumbnails    Gen. info    Sponsors    Photos for sale   
NON-PASSERINES     1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10     11     12     13     14 15     16     17     18     19     20     21     22     23     24     25     26     PASSERINES
Common names sorted alphabetically: A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O   P   Q   R   S   T   W   Y  

2

Australasian Shoveler

(Spatula [Anas] rhynchotis)
Alternate name(s): "Australian Shoveler", "Blue-winged Shoveler",
"Southern Shoveler", "Spoonbill-duck", "Stinker"
Aboriginal name(s): "bardoongooba" (WA); "thowla"

Size: 45-54 cm
Weight: 550-850 g

Similar
species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description

Click here for a physical description

Taxonomy, classification

See Australasian Shoveler at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species

Click here for information on habitat and range

Sightings

Click here for sighting information

Photos

Race "rhynchotis"

ADULT

MALE

BREEDING

Frontal view of a male Australasian Shoveler in breeding plumage; note the broad bill for filter-feeding
(photo courtesy of V. Collins)
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, July 2020]

Close-up near-frontal view of a male Australasian Shoveler in breeding plumage resting with Eurasian Coots
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Beardy Waters Dam, Glen Innes, NSW, July 2019]

Near-lateral view of a male Australasian Shoveler in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Ensay, East Gippsland, VIC, August 2019]

Close-up near-lateral view of a male Australasian Shoveler in breeding plumage stretching a wing (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Beardy Waters Dam, Glen Innes, NSW, July 2019]

Close-up lateral view of a male Australasian Shoveler in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Beardy Waters Dam, Glen Innes, NSW, July 2019]

Close-up lateral view of a male Australasian Shoveler in breeding plumage resting in shallow water; note the charactristic orange legs
(photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Lake Claremont, Perth, WA, August 2015]

Lateral view of two male Australasian Shovelers in breeding plumage, one of which is showing its turquoise-green speculum
(photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Lake Monger, Perth, WA, May 2021]

Australasian Shovelers in breeding plumage, one of which is showing a turquoise iridescence on its head
(photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Lake Monger, Perth, WA, May 2021]

Dorsal view of a male Australasian Shoveler in breeding plumage
[Warialda, NSW, April 2014]

Male Australasian Shoveler feeding with its tail up; note the characteristic brown-black appearance, with orange legs
[Old Quipolly Dam, Quirindi, NSW, December 2013]

Size comparison of Australasian Shovelers with a Great Cormorant (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Lake Monger, Perth, WA, April 2021]

Size comparison of a male Australasian Shoveler with an Australian Pelican (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Lake Monger, Perth, WA, April 2021]

Size comparison of a male Australasian Shoveler with a Pink-eared Duck (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Lake Monger, Perth, WA, May 2021]

NON-BREEDING

Lateral view of a male Australasian Shoveler moulting out of breeding plumage - note the faintness of the facial mask; the body is still in breeding colours (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Lake Monger, Perth, WA, May 2021]

FEMALE

Frontal view of a filter-feeding female Australasian Shoveler - note the water being pressed out the sides of its bill
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Centennial Park, Sydney, NSW, June 2019]

Near-lateral view of a female Australasian Shoveler with water running out of its bill (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Centennial Park, Sydney, NSW, June 2019]

Lateral view of a female Australasian Shoveler (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Ensay, East Gippsland, VIC, August 2019]

Lateral view of a female Australasian Shoveler (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Lake Herdsman, Perth, WA, September 2022]

Lateral view of a female Australasian Shoveler with water running out of its bill
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Centennial Park, Sydney, NSW, June 2019]

Lateral view of a filter-feeding female Australasian Shoveler - note the water being pressed out the of its bill
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Centennial Park, Sydney, NSW, June 2019]

Lateral view of a female Australasian Shoveler wading through shallow water - note the bright orange legs and feet
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Centennial Park, Sydney, NSW, June 2019]

PAIR

Frontal view of a pair of resting Australasian Shovelers (photo courtesy of V. Collins)
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, July 2020]

Close-up lateral view of a pair of Australasian Shovelers (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Lake Herdsman, Perth, WA, May 2023]

Lateral view of a pair of Australasian Shovelers (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Lake Herdsman, Perth, WA, September 2022]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Lateral view of two Australasian Shovelers: sub-adult male on the left and adult male on the right
[Warialda, NSW, April 2014]

Lateral view of an Australasian Shoveler duckling (photo courtesy of M. Windeyer)
[10 km north of Collie, NSW, October 2020]

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Communal Mobility: Vagrant/dispersive Elementary unit: Pair

As filter-feeding birds taking microscopic particles out of water, Australasian Shovelers can regularly be found in eutrophic water, in particular in sewage treatment works.

Three Australasian Shovelers on a sewage treatment pond; from left to right an adult male, a sub-adult male and a female
[Warialda, NSW, April 2014]

Food, Diet

Close-up lateral view of a filter-feeding male Australasian Shoveler (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Lake Herdsman, Perth, WA, September 2022]

Close-up lateral view of a male Australasian Shoveler with a plant filament stuck in its bill
(photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Lake Herdsman, Perth, WA, September 2022]

Frontal view of a filter-feeding female Australasian Shoveler - note the water being pressed out the sides of its bill
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Centennial Park, Sydney, NSW, June 2019]

Lateral view of a filter-feeding female Australasian Shoveler - note the water being pressed out the sides of its bill
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Centennial Park, Sydney, NSW, June 2019]

One of three Australasian Shovelers on a sewage treatment pond seen filter-feeding
[Warialda, NSW, April 2014]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

ausshov_20151222.mp3 rhynchotis
(NW NSW)
Contact calls (male) © MD

More Australasian Shoveler sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site?
If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.