What, Me Worry
Alfred E. Neuman immediately came to mind when I spotted this Northern Shoveler enjoying the morning light.
The Northern Shoveler:
The aptly named Northern Shoveler has a shovel-shaped bill that quickly sets it apart from other dabbling ducks. It is a medium-sized duck that tends to sit with its rear a bit higher out of the water almost like its bill is pulling its front half down.
Perhaps the most outwardly distinctive of the dabbling ducks thanks to its large spoon-shaped bill, the Northern Shoveler busily forages head down in shallow wetlands. Its uniquely shaped bill has comb-like projections along its edges, which filter out tiny crustaceans and seeds from the water.
If the bill doesn’t catch your eye, the male's blocky color palette sure will, with its bright white chest, rusty sides, and green head. The female is no less interesting with a giant orange bill and mottled brown plumage.
Northern Shovelers are monogamous and remain together longer than pairs of most other dabbling ducks. They form bonds on the wintering grounds and stay together until just before fall migration.
When flushed off the nest, a female Northern Shoveler often defecates on its eggs, apparently to deter predators.
The oldest recorded Northern Shoveler was a male, and at least 16 years, 7 months old when he was found in Nevada.
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Alfred E. Neuman:
In a 1975 interview with the New York Times, MAD Magazine founder Harvey Kurtzman recalled an illustration of a grinning boy he’d spotted on a postcard in the early fifties: a “bumpkin portrait,” “part leering wiseacre, part happy-go-lucky kid.” It was captioned “What, Me Worry?”
That bumpkin became Alfred E. Neuman, MAD’s mascot, who turns sixty six this year—kind of. The impish, immutable redhead made his official debut in December 1956, when he appeared on the cover of MAD no. 30 as a write-in candidate for president. He’s appeared on almost every MAD cover since: possessing, spoofing, and spooking cultural icons with nothing more than a drowsy rictus.
(a9ll, 200-600, 1/800 @ f/7.1, ISO 320)
What, Me Worry
Alfred E. Neuman immediately came to mind when I spotted this Northern Shoveler enjoying the morning light.
The Northern Shoveler:
The aptly named Northern Shoveler has a shovel-shaped bill that quickly sets it apart from other dabbling ducks. It is a medium-sized duck that tends to sit with its rear a bit higher out of the water almost like its bill is pulling its front half down.
Perhaps the most outwardly distinctive of the dabbling ducks thanks to its large spoon-shaped bill, the Northern Shoveler busily forages head down in shallow wetlands. Its uniquely shaped bill has comb-like projections along its edges, which filter out tiny crustaceans and seeds from the water.
If the bill doesn’t catch your eye, the male's blocky color palette sure will, with its bright white chest, rusty sides, and green head. The female is no less interesting with a giant orange bill and mottled brown plumage.
Northern Shovelers are monogamous and remain together longer than pairs of most other dabbling ducks. They form bonds on the wintering grounds and stay together until just before fall migration.
When flushed off the nest, a female Northern Shoveler often defecates on its eggs, apparently to deter predators.
The oldest recorded Northern Shoveler was a male, and at least 16 years, 7 months old when he was found in Nevada.
________________________________________________
Alfred E. Neuman:
In a 1975 interview with the New York Times, MAD Magazine founder Harvey Kurtzman recalled an illustration of a grinning boy he’d spotted on a postcard in the early fifties: a “bumpkin portrait,” “part leering wiseacre, part happy-go-lucky kid.” It was captioned “What, Me Worry?”
That bumpkin became Alfred E. Neuman, MAD’s mascot, who turns sixty six this year—kind of. The impish, immutable redhead made his official debut in December 1956, when he appeared on the cover of MAD no. 30 as a write-in candidate for president. He’s appeared on almost every MAD cover since: possessing, spoofing, and spooking cultural icons with nothing more than a drowsy rictus.
(a9ll, 200-600, 1/800 @ f/7.1, ISO 320)