Red shoveler

Scientific name: Spatula platalea

How weight is recorded: Whole weight

Field notes

Appearance

Males display a distinctive red-chestnut breast and head with a white cheek patch, blue-grey back, and iridescent green head. Females are duller brown overall. Both sexes have a prominent spoon-shaped bill.

Size and weight

Males weigh 500–650 g, females 420–550 g; body length 43–48 cm.

Habitat

Red shovelers inhabit shallow freshwater lakes, marshes, and ponds with open water and vegetated margins, typically in wetland areas from lowlands to high plateaus.

Distribution

Found across South America from Colombia to the Magellan Strait, occurring on high-altitude plateaus and lowland wetlands.

Diet

Primarily vegetarian, feeding on seeds, green vegetation, and roots; also takes small aquatic invertebrates and insects, especially during breeding.

Behaviour

Diurnal and crepuscular, active throughout daylight hours with peaks at dawn and dusk. Highly social; courtship and mating occur on open water in spring.

Hunting tips

Look for small flocks and individuals feeding along vegetated shallows. Approach slowly using marsh vegetation as cover. Take birds as they sit on water or break into flight from the surface.

Whole weight

This species is logged by whole weight — the animal weighed entire, as taken.

Where it is hunted

Listed as huntable in 2 countries in Huntify.

Names in other languages

These field notes are general species knowledge, not legal advice. Always check the current seasons, quotas and firearm rules where you hunt.