Spatula rhynchotis
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The Australasian shoveler (Spatula rhynchotis) is a species of dabbling duck in the genus Spatula. It ranges from 46 to 53 cm (18 to 21 in). It lives in heavily vegetated swamps. In Australia it is protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974. They occur in southwestern and southeastern Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand. The male has a blue-grey head with a vertical white crescent in front of the eyes.
The common name for the species Spatula rhynchotis is Australasian shoveler no matter which country it is found in. It was previously categorised as two subspecies: S. rhynchotis rhynchotis Australian shoveler, the nominate race, occurs in southwestern and southeastern Australia and Tasmania.
S. rhynchotis variegata New Zealand shoveler, occurs in New Zealand. Other names used include: spoonbill, shoveler, spoony, spoonie and shoveller. The Māori name is kuruwhengi. The Australasian shoveler was described by the English ornithologist John Latham in 1801.
Courtship in New Zealand starts around August which involves vocalisations from the drake (male) accompanied with head-bobbing whilst swimming toward the duck... Wikipedia →
Call0:25
New Zealand · 2013
© Fernand DEROUSSEN · XC152947 · CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
Recording0:14
New Zealand · 2023
Henry Hart · iNaturalist · CC0
Recording0:11
New Zealand · 2024
© Michael Morgan · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fiordland National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 2 | Grampians National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Hattah-Kulkyne National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Great Otway National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sedgwick County Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Slimbridge Wetland Centre | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 3 | Hamilton Zoo | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 4 | Perth Zoo | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Cologne Zoological Garden | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 6 | Auckland Zoo | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 7 | Cleres Zoological Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 8 | L'Oceanogràfic | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 9 | Willowbank Wildlife Reserve | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 10 | Kiwi Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 11 | Ōtorohanga Kiwi House | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 12 | Cologne Zoo Aquarium | 🇩🇪 Germany |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report an Australasian Shoveler sighting in Perth on a given day, based on 1,594 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 45th most-seen of the 162 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December to October
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report an Australasian Shoveler in Perth on a given day, against about 10% in November, the lowest month.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Australasian Shoveler sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 4 cities where we can rate Australasian Shoveler sightings, Perth has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Auckland (New Zealand, about 10%) and Melbourne (Australia, under 5%).
Same family: Anatidae
The closest relatives of the Australasian Shoveler that you can see in Perth (family Anatidae, Ducks, Geese, and Swans) are Pacific Black Duck (about 70%), Black Swan (about 50%) and Australian Wood Duck (about 50%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Australasian Shoveler is recorded against all the birds logged in Perth (1,594 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
