Mr. & Mrs.
It’s a pair of Northern Shovelers, male and female. Why the unusual looking bill, you may ask. It's a unique tool that these dabbling ducks use for feeding.
According to AllAboutBirds.org, “The bill of the Northern Shoveler is big (about 2.5 inches long) and shaped like a shovel, but that odd-shaped bill also has about 110 fine projections (called lamellae) along the edges that act like a colander, filtering out tiny crustaceans, seeds, and aquatic invertebrates from the water.”
HWW
Mr. & Mrs.
It’s a pair of Northern Shovelers, male and female. Why the unusual looking bill, you may ask. It's a unique tool that these dabbling ducks use for feeding.
According to AllAboutBirds.org, “The bill of the Northern Shoveler is big (about 2.5 inches long) and shaped like a shovel, but that odd-shaped bill also has about 110 fine projections (called lamellae) along the edges that act like a colander, filtering out tiny crustaceans, seeds, and aquatic invertebrates from the water.”
HWW