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| SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION |
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| COMMON
NAME: |
Australian shoveler
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| KINGDOM: |
Animalia |
| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Aves |
| ORDER: |
Anseriformes |
| FAMILY: |
Anatidae
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| GENUS
SPECIES: |
Anas (duck) rhynchotis rhynchotis (resembling a bill; refers to spatulate bill) |
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| DESCRIPTION: |
This duck has a long, spatulate bill and whitish crescent shaped patches in the area between the bill and eyes
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| MALE |
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| FEMALE |
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| SIZE: |
Approximately 46 to 56 cm (18.4 to 22.4 in.)
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| MALE |
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| FEMALE |
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| WEIGHT: |
About 272 to 480 g (9.5-16.8 oz)
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| MALE |
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| FEMALE |
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| DIET: |
Herbs, grasses, pondweeds, wigeon grass, eelgrass, and algae
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| INCUBATION: |
7 to 8 eggs are laid which incubate for about 25 to 26 days; 40 to 45 days to fledge. |
| CLUTCH
SIZE |
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| FLEDGING
DURATION |
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| SEXUAL
MATURITY: |
1 to 2 years
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| MALE |
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| FEMALE |
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| LIFE
SPAN: |
Averages 20 to 30 years
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| MALE |
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| FEMALE |
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| RANGE: |
Southwestern and southeastern Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand. |
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| HABITAT: |
Found in or near shallow lakes and pools with dense reed beds, marshes and lagoons. |
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| POPULATION: |
GLOBAL |
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| LOCAL |
Populations remain at 100,000 to 150,000 individuals in New Zealand
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| STATUS: |
IUCN |
Not listed
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| CITES |
Not listed
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| USFWS |
Not listed
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| 1. |
These ducks sift the surface of the water filtering out small animals and plants through their bill. Lamellae, which are a series of tiny vertical slits, are found along the upper and lower sides of the bill. |
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| 2. |
Males are called drakes, females are hens, and young are ducklings. |
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
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| Over 60 percent of this species lives in areas open to hunting. In 1987, the bag limit was reduced to two percent in order to stabilize the populations. These efforts seem successful; with roughly 30,000 hunted each year in New Zealand. |
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| Austin, G. Birds of The World. New York. Golden Press, Inc., 1961. |
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text
Gotch, A.F. Birds- Their Latin Names Explained. UK. Blandford Books Ltd., 1981. |
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Johnsgard, P. Ducks, Geese, and Swans of the World. Lincoln. Univ. Of Neb. Press, 1978.
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Scott, P. A Coloured Key of the Wildfowl of the World. Slimbridge, England. The Wildfowl Trust. 1988. |
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| Todd, F.S. Natural History of Waterfowl. San Diego, Ca. Ibis Publishing Co., 1996. |
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