Roseate Spoonbill
Roseate Spoonbill
Platalea ajaja
At a Glance
Gorgeous at a distance and bizarre up close, the Roseate Spoonbill is locally common in coastal Florida, Texas, and southwest Louisiana. These striking birds are usually seen in small flocks, often associating with other waders. Spoonbills feed in shallow waters, walking forward slowly while they swing their heads from side to side, sifting the muck with their wide flat bills.
All bird guide text and rangemaps adapted from Lives of North American Birds by Kenn Kaufman© 1996, used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Category
Ibises and Spoonbills, Long-legged Waders
IUCN Status
Least Concern
Habitat
Coasts and Shorelines, Freshwater Wetlands, Lakes, Ponds, and Rivers, Saltwater Wetlands
Region
California, Florida, Plains, Southeast, Southwest, Texas
Behavior
Direct Flight, Flap/Glide, Formation
Population
170.000
Range & Identification
Migration & Range Maps
The Roseate Spoonbill is present all year in coastal Texas but more common in summer and migrates to Mexico in winter. There is thought to be some regular seasonal movement between Florida and Cuba. After breeding season, a few (mostly immatures) may stray far north and well inland. Rarely strays into southwest from western Mexico.
Description
Sexes similar - Length: 2 ft 4 in-2 ft 10 in (71-86 cm); wingspan: 3 ft 11 in-4 ft 3 in (1.2-1.3 m); weight: 2 lb 10 oz-3 lb 15 oz (1.2-1.8 kg). This large, striking wading bird is instantly recognizable by its exceptionally long, flattened, spatulate bill. Its body is predominantly bright pink, accented by carmine red wing coverts and a white neck, chest, and upper back. Breeding adults have a featherless, pale greenish-gray head with prominent red eyes. They forage in shallow wetlands by keeping a horizontal posture and sweeping their sensitive, partly opened bills from side to side in the water to feel for small fish and crustaceans. Juveniles look similar in shape but are much paler, often appearing mostly white with light pink washes, and have fully feathered, whitish heads.
Size
About the size of a Heron
Color
Orange, Pink, Red, White
Wing Shape
Broad, Long, Rounded
Tail Shape
Short
Songs and Calls
Low croaks and clucking sounds.
Call Pattern
Flat
Call Type
Croak/Quack, Drum, Rattle, Raucous
Habitat
Coastal marshes, lagoons, mudflats, mangrove keys are typical habitats for the Roseate Spoonbill. This bird forages in shallow water with a muddy bottom, in both salt and fresh water, including tidal ponds and coastal lagoons, as well as extensive inland marshes. It nests in colonies, in Florida mainly in red mangroves, and farther west in willows or on coastal islands in low scrub, including mesquite and salt cedar.
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Behavior
Eggs
2-3, sometimes 1-5. White, spotted with brown. Incubation is by both sexes, 22-24 days.
Young
Both Roseate Spoonbill parents feed young. The young clamber about near the nest and may leave it after 5-6 weeks, becoming capable of strong flight at roughly 7-8 weeks.
Feeding Behavior
The Roseate Spoonbill forages by wading in shallow muddy water, sweeping its bill from side to side with mandibles slightly open, detecting prey by feel. Sometimes it picks up items that it has found by sight.
Diet
Small fish, aquatic invertebrates, and other items make up the diet of the Roseate Spoonbill. It primarily consumes small fish such as minnows and killifish, along with shrimp, crayfish, crabs, aquatic insects (especially beetles), mollusks, and slugs. This bird also eats some plant material, including roots and stems of sedges.
Nesting
The Roseate Spoonbill breeds mainly during winter in Florida and during spring in Texas. Nests are built in colonies. At the beginning of the breeding season, the entire flock may suddenly fly up for no apparent reason and circle the area. In courtship, the male and female first interact aggressively, later perching close together, presenting sticks to each other, and crossing and clasping bills. The nest site is typically in mangroves, trees, or shrubs, usually 5-15' above ground or water, and sometimes on the ground. The nest, built mostly by the female with material brought by the male, is a bulky platform of sticks with a deep hollow in the center lined with twigs and leaves.
Conservation
Conservation Status
Very common in parts of the southeast until the 1860s, the Roseate Spoonbill was virtually eliminated from the United States as a side-effect of the destruction of wader colonies by plume hunters. Began to re-colonize Texas and Florida early in the 20th century. Still uncommon and local, vulnerable to degradation of feeding and nesting habitats.
Climate Threats Facing the Roseate Spoonbill
Choose a temperature scenario below to see which threats will affect this species as warming increases. The same climate change-driven threats that put birds at risk will affect other wildlife and people, too.
