It is resident in South Africa, and uncommon further north in Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, southern Angola, Lesotho, Mozambique, and Zambia.

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 nest is a shallow depression on the ground, lined with plant material and down, and usually close to water.

[2] The Cape shoveler was described by the German ornithologist Ernst Hartert in 1891 under the present binomial name Spatula smithii.

[5] The IUCN Red List sets the conservation status of the Cape shoveler as least concern.