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WetlandPlatform nestLarge · 1.5 kg
ID tip
The roseate spoonbill is 71–86 cm (28–34 in) long, with a 120–133 cm (47–52 in) wingspan and a body mass of 1.2–1.8 kg (2.6–4.0 lb). The tarsus measures 9.7–12.4 cm (3.8–4.9 in), the culmen measures 14.5–18 cm (5.7–7.1 in) and the wing measures 32.3–37.5 cm (12.7–14.8 in) and thus the legs, bill, neck and spatulate bill all appear elongated. Adults have a bare greenish head ("golden buff" when breeding) and a white neck, back and breast (with a tuft of pink feathers in the center when breeding), and are otherwise a deep pink. The bill is grey. There is no significant sexual dimorphism.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
When to see the Roseate Spoonbill
One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is April, the month with the most records.
Where to see the Roseate Spoonbill
The map shades 31 countries with regular records, and 4 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.
Recorded as a rare visitor in Puerto Rico, Guadeloupe, St. Lucia, Martinique.
About the Roseate Spoonbill
The roseate spoonbill is a social wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family, Threskiornithidae. It is a resident breeder in both South and North America. The roseate spoonbill's pink color is diet-derived, consisting of the carotenoid pigment canthaxanthin, like the American flamingo.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Easily confused with
Eurasian SpoonbillPlatalea leucorodiaThis species is almost unmistakable in most of its range.
Royal SpoonbillPlatalea regiaThe royal spoonbill is a large, white bird with a black, spoon-shaped bill.
African SpoonbillPlatalea albaThe African spoonbill is a long-legged wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae.
Side by side: Eurasian Spoonbill vs Roseate Spoonbill · Roseate Spoonbill vs Royal Spoonbill
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