Spoonbill

spoonbill, common name for a large wading bird related to the ibis. It has a long bill with a tip like a flattened spoon, with which it captures small aquatic animals. The roseate spoonbill, Ajaia ajaja, its plumage rosy pink accented with carmine on the wings and tail, is found from the Gulf states S to Argentina and Chile. In the United States it was almost exterminated for its feathers. The common spoonbill of Europe, Asia, and Africa, Platalea leucorodia, is white and crested. Other species are found in Australia, Japan, and tropical Africa. The unrelated shoveler duck is sometimes called spoonbill, and there is a spoon-billed sandpiper. Spoonbills are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Aves, order Ciconiiformes, family Threskiornithidae.

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spoonbill

Any of six species (family Threskiornithidae) of long-necked, long-legged wading birds, inhabitants of Old and New World estuaries, saltwater bayous, and lakes. They are 24–32 in. (60–80 cm) long and have a short tail and a long, straight bill that is spatulate at the tip. Most species are white, sometimes rose-tinged; the roseate spoonbill (Ajaia ajaja) of North and South America is deep pink and strikingly beautiful. With a side-to-side motion of the bill, they sweep mud and shallow water for fishes and crustaceans. They fly with neck and legs extended and wings flapping steadily. Breeding colonies build stick nests in low bushes and trees. Some species, including the black-billed spoonbill, are endangered. See also ibis.

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spoonbill

any of several wading birds of warm regions, such as Platalea leucorodia (common spoonbill) and Ajaia ajaja (roseate spoonbill), having a long horizontally flattened bill: family Threskiornithidae, order Ciconiiformes

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Spoonbill 

(Platalea leucorodia), a bird of the family Plataleidae of the order Ciconiiformes. Its body length measures about 80 cm, and its weight about 1.5 kg. The bill is flat and expanded near the tip in the shape of a spatula. The plumage is white.

The spoonbill is distributed in Europe, Asia, and northeastern Africa. In the USSR it is found in the south, from the lower Danube to Primor’e. A migratory bird, it winters in Africa and southern Asia. The spoonbill settles in colonies, usually at the mouths of rivers that are overgrown with reeds. It feeds mainly on small invertebrates. The bird installs its nests on bent reed stalks, more rarely in trees. Three to five eggs are laid at one time. The young hatch covered with down but are blind and helpless.