The duckbill assembly consists of five major units: (1) a shovel trough to which is attached the shovel head fitting inside the feeder trough, (2) an operating carrier that controls the connection or coupling between the feeder and shovel troughs, (3) a sliding shoe that moves to and fro on the floor of the seam, (4) a swivel trough, and (5) a pendulum jack. The function of the duckbill is to gather the coal and load it into the shaker conveyor pan column. The shovel is forced into the prepared coal by the forward motion of the pan column. As the shovel is propelled forward, the coal is conveyed back along the shovel trough and then to the pan column.