Cape shoveler
Spatula smithii E. Hartert, 1891
The cape shoveler (Spatula smithii) is a species in the family Anatidae, order Anseriformes. Recorded adults weigh 591.5 g to 646 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
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Quick facts about the cape shoveler
- Weight
- 591.5 g – 646 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- wetlandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 27.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 9src for Young per litter or clutch
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Aquaticsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Partialsrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the cape shoveler live?
Not recorded
What is the cape shoveler?
The Cape shoveler or Cape shoveller (Spatula smithii) is a species of dabbling duck of the genus Spatula. It is resident in South Africa, and uncommon further north in Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, southern Angola, Lesotho, Mozambique, and Zambia.
This 51–53 cm long duck is non-migratory, but undertakes some local seasonal movements. It is gregarious when not breeding, and may then form large flocks.
This species has a large spatulate bill. Adults have speckled grey-brown plumage and dull orange legs. As with many southern hemisphere ducks, the sexes appear similar, but the male has a paler head than the female, a pale blue forewing separated from the green speculum by a white border, and yellow eyes. The female's forewing is grey.
Cape shoveler can only be confused with a vagrant female northern shoveler, but is much darker and stockier than that species.
It is a bird of open wetlands, such as wet grassland or marshes with some emergent vegetation, and feeds by dabbling for plant food, often by swinging its bill from side to side to strain food from the water. This bird also eats molluscs and insects in the nesting season. The nest is a shallow depression on the ground, lined with plant material and down, and usually close to water.
This is a fairly quiet species. The male has rarr and cawick calls, whereas the female has a quack.
The Cape shoveler was described by the German ornithologist Ernst Hartert in 1891 under the present binomial name Spatula smithii. The specific epithet commemorates the Scottish zoologist Andrew Smith.
The IUCN Red List sets the conservation status of the Cape shoveler as least concern.
From the Wikipedia article “Cape shoveler” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cape_shoveler&oldid=1361080782), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the cape shoveler endangered?
The cape shoveler is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the cape shoveler classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderAnseriformes
- familyAnatidae
- genusSpatula
- SpeciesSpatula smithii E. Hartert, 1891
Synonyms Anas smithi, Anas smithii, Rhynchaspis capensis, Spatula capensis
Other names and names in other languages (46)
- CASHEnglish
- Kaapse SlopeendAfrikaans
- أبو مجرفة كيبArabic
- ànec cullerot sud-africàCatalan
- lžičák kapskýCzech
- Hwyaden lydanbig y PenrhynWelsh
- KapskeandDanish
- KaplöffelenteGerman
- Kap-LöffelenteGerman
- Südafrikanische LöffelenteGerman
- sudafrika anasoEsperanto
- Kablanda kuleranasoEsperanto
- Cuchara de El CaboSpanish
- kapimaa luitsnokk-partEstonian
- نوکپهن دماغهPersian
- kapinlapasorsaFinnish
- Canard du CapFrench
- Canard de SmithFrench
- מרית הכףHebrew
- kapska patkaCroatian
- fokföldi kanalasréceHungarian
- SpónöndIcelandic
- Mestolone del CapoItalian
- ケープハシビロガモJapanese
- afrikinė šaukštasnapė antisLithuanian
- Kāpzemes platknābisLatvian
- KapslubbeLow German
- Kaapse SlobeendDutch
- kappskjeandNorwegian
- płaskonos przylądkowyPolish
- pato-colhereiro-do-caboPortuguese
- Pato-trombeteiro do CaboPortuguese
- pato-trombeteiro-do-caboPortuguese
- Капская широконоскаRussian
- Африканская широконоскаRussian
- KáhpaspoađđoduoršuNorthern Sami
- kačica ploskozobkaSlovak
- kapska žličaricaSlovenian
- Kapska plovka kašikaraSerbian
- kapskedandSwedish
- Kap KaşıkgagasıTurkish
- широконіска капськаUkrainian
- Vịt mỏ thìa CapeVietnamese
- 褐頂琵嘴鴨Chinese
- 褐顶琵嘴鸭Chinese
- iDadaZulu
Relatives of the cape shoveler
Other species in the same genus Spatula.
Northern shoveler
Spatula clypeata
Garganey
Spatula querquedula
Blue-winged teal
Spatula discors
Cinnamon teal
Spatula cyanoptera
Red shoveler
Spatula platalea
Blue-billed teal
Spatula hottentota
CompareCape shoveler vs Northern shovelerCape shoveler vs GarganeyCape shoveler vs Blue-winged tealCape shoveler vs Cinnamon teal
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the cape shoveler?
An adult cape shoveler weighs 591.5 g – 646 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the cape shoveler endangered?
The cape shoveler is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
What kind of animal is the cape shoveler?
The cape shoveler (Spatula smithii) belongs to the family Anatidae in the order Anseriformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Cape shoveler (Spatula smithii). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/cape-shoveler
“Cape shoveler (Spatula smithii).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/cape-shoveler.
@misc{cape_shoveler_2026,
title = {Cape shoveler (Spatula smithii)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/cape-shoveler},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}