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The Northern shoveler (Spatula clypeata) is a bird found in United States, Canada, Netherlands, Sweden, United Kingdom and Denmark. Marshes and shallow lakes across the Northern Hemisphere. It eats insects and other small invertebrates, seeds and nuts and leaves and other plant parts. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

🏡 Where the Northern shoveler lives

Marshes and shallow lakes across the Northern Hemisphere.

🍽️ What it eats

• 🐛 Insects & bugs60%
• 🌰 Seeds & nuts20%
• 🌿 Leaves & plants20%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

Hear the Northern shoveler

Recorded by David Darrell-Lambert (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC996356. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Northern shoveler

Where does the Northern shoveler live?

The Northern shoveler lives in United States, Canada, Netherlands, Sweden, United Kingdom and Denmark. Marshes and shallow lakes across the Northern Hemisphere.

What does the Northern shoveler eat?

insects and other small invertebrates (about 60%), seeds and nuts (about 20%), leaves and other plant parts (about 20%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Northern shoveler endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from North America

• Red-winged blackbird
• Wilson's storm petrel
• Blue-gray tanager
• White-crowned sparrow
• Northern house wren
• Osprey

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.