Roseate Spoonbill

Platalea ajajaOrder: CICONIIFORMES Family: Ibises (Threskiornithidae)

Codes: Common Name: ROSP Scientific Name: PLAAJA ITIS Taxonomic No.: 174941

Birdman Mel's Backyard Tips

Overview

Roseate Spoonbill: Large ibis, pink body, white upper back, neck. Long bill, gray and spatulate. Head is bare and olive-green. Feeds while wading in shallow water, sweeping its bill back and forth. Sensitive nerve endings snap bill shut when prey is found. Alternates steady wing beats, short glides.

Range and Habitat

Roseate Spoonbill: Found on the coasts of Texas, Louisiana, and southern Florida; also in the American tropics. Preferred habitats include mangroves, saltwater lagoons, and large, shallow lakes.

Topo Map: Long-legged-like Body

Listen to Call

Voice Text

Generally silent

Interesting Facts

Roseate Spoonbill numbers declined in the early 1800's when the wings of this beautiful creature were made into fans.

Their pink color is a result of eating crustaceans that have fed on algae.

A group of roseate spoonbills are collectively known as a "bowl" of spoonbills.

Bird Term Glossary

Author

Gary Owen Dick

Related Birds

Great Blue Heron
Greater Flamingo
Jabiru

Percevia^® Registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The Percevia field guides, database and search protocol patent pending.

The best bird guide and bird watching search engine to identify birds!

Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Roseate Spoonbill

● Song: Generally silent

● Foraging & Feeding: Roseate Spoonbill: Eats minnows, small crustaceans, bits of plants, and insects; forages by swishing its spoon-like bill from side to side in shallow, muddy water.

● Breeding & nesting: Roseate Spoonbill: One to five brown spotted white eggs are laid in a bulky nest made of sticks and built in a low bush or tree. Incubation ranges from 22 to 24 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Roseate Spoonbill: Flamingo is larger and has a short, thick, hooked bill and black on wings.

Flight Pattern

Steady flapping wing beats alternating with short glides.

● Range & Habitat: Roseate Spoonbill: Found on the coasts of Texas, Louisiana, and southern Florida; also in the American tropics. Preferred habitats include mangroves, saltwater lagoons, and large, shallow lakes.

^BreedingMonogamous, Colonial

^PopulationFairly common, but local

^MigrationSome migrate

^Weight52 - 53 Ounces

Long-legged-like Body

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America