Spatula rhynchotis
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
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 |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Australasian Shoveler sighting in Great Otway National Park on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 163rd most-seen of the 175 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Australasian Shoveler in Great Otway National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
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.
4th of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Australasian Shoveler sightings, Great Otway National Park ranks 4th at under 5%. The best odds are in Fiordland National Park (New Zealand, about 10%), Grampians National Park (Australia, under 5%) and Hattah-Kulkyne National Park (Australia, under 5%).
Same family: Anatidae
The closest relatives of the Australasian Shoveler that you can see in Great Otway National Park (family Anatidae, Ducks, Geese, and Swans) are Pacific Black Duck (about 30%), Australian Wood Duck (about 30%) and Chestnut Teal (about 20%), 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 Great Otway National Park (7 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
