026 (Northern) Shoveler
(Anas clypeata)
Identification
44-52cm. Male Shovelers in breeding plumage look like male Mallards because of their green heads. However they can be easily distinguished by their dazzlingly white breast, dark, chestnut flanks and above all by their huge, long, broad, shovel-like bill.
Description
In Hungary it breeds regularly on fishponds, marshes, alkali lakes. Common during migration on shallow lakes, flooded areas and meadows, drained fishponds. Spring migration starts early March and lasts late April. Autumn migration is between September and late November. Rare in winter.
-Shoveler-(Anas-clypeata).JPG "026 (Northern) Shoveler (Anas clypeata )")
Source: 1) Lovászi Péter (editor): Javasolt különleges madárvédelmi területek Magyarországon, Magyar Madártani és Természetvédelmi Egyesület, 2002; 2) BirdLife International:IUCN Red List for birds. Species factsheet; 3) Králl Attila, Nagy Károly: Fontos Madárélőhelyek Magyarországon (Területek, kritériumok és minősítő fajok) MME Monitoring Központ, 2007; 4) Szabolcs Kókay bird illustrations; 5) www.hungarianbirdwatching.com bird descriptions and checklists, 2004-2012; 6) Lars Svensson et al.: Collins Bird Guide: The Most Complete Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe 2nd Edition, Harper Collins, 2010; 7) MME Nomenclator Bizottság: Nomenclator avium Hungariae. An annotated list of the birds of Hungary. Magyar Madártani és Természetvédelmi Egyesület, 2008