Northern Shoveler - a bird with the most well developed lamellae in the world.

Male northern shoveler duck.  Top:  male's bill and eye.  Bottom:  female.

I have written on shovelers before (here and here), but I got a nice shot of one the other day at Munson Pond, and I thought I would do it again.  I want to focus on something specific to this interesting duck - its bill.

Sometimes referred to as "spoonbills" or "spoonies", shovelers get their various monikers from their somewhat unique bills, at least in the duck world.  Highly adapted, the oversized structures are perfect for filtering out particulates from muddy sediment.  They have rows of lamellae - small bristle-like projections on the top and bottom of their bills.  You can see a good example here.  It remindes me of the baleen that many whale species have to filter out the water and leave the edible contents behind for swallowing.

Other waterfowl also have lamellae, but it is particularly well developed in shovelers.  Another bird well known for their lamellae-equipped bills are flamingos.  They essentially do the same thing, where they scoop up bottom sediment and use their bills to filter out edible bits.

Of all the birds in the world, the northern shoveler is thought to have the most well-developed lamellae.  There are about 400 bristle-like projections coming from their bills, 200 for the top and 200 for the bottom.  They often swim together in groups, stirring up the bottom, and extracting invertebrates from the resulting mayhem.  Another interesting fact is that they can pump water through their mouths by using their tongues; water enters through the front part of the bills and is filtered as it passes through the lamellae.

They are highly efficient at feeding.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com