Species Fact Profile: Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja)

Roseate Spoonbill                                                              

Platalea ajaja (Linnaeus, 1758)

Range: Southeastern United States, Central America, the Caribbean, South America south to Argentina.  Occasionally shows up in the southwestern United States as a vagrant

Habitat: Mangrove swamps, mudflats, wetlands.  Nest and roost in trees and shrubs along the water’s edge

Diet: Small Fish, Amphibians, Aquatic Invertebrates.  Consume some aquatic plants, but mostly as a byproduct of sifting for animal prey  

Social Grouping: Large, mixed-species flocks and nesting colonies

Reproduction: Seasonally monogamous, repairing each breeding season.  After performing courtship displays (presenting each other sticks, crossing and clasping bills), both sexes cooperate to build a nest, with the male doing most of the material collection and the female doing most of the construction.  It is a large, well-constructed bowl of sticks in a tree about 3 meters up, lined with leaves and grass. 1-5 (usually 2-3) white eggs spotted with brown are incubated by both parents for about 3 weeks, then fed by both parents on regurgitated fish.  Chicks fledge at 4-5 weeks, but usually hang around the nest until they are about 8 weeks old and proficient at flying, at which point they are independent.  Sexually mature at 1-2, but usually don’t start breeding until 3-4 years old for males, 4-5 years old for females

Lifespan: 10 Years (Wild), 30 Years (Zoo)

      Conservation Status: IUCN Least Concern

•           Body length 71-86 centimeters, wingspan 120-130 centimeters, weigh 1200-1800 grams.  Males slightly larger than females
•       Males and females look alike.  The upper beck and back are white.  The wings and underparts are a light pink, turning into a deep red towards the tail and with a bright red patch on the shoulders.  The legs are eyes are red, while the beak and feet are yellow-green.  The head is only partially feathered.  Juveniles are paler (and have a fully-feathered head), achieving adult coloration at about 3 years old
•       The namesake bill is long and flat (slightly longer in the males), rounder at the end, resembling a spoon.  The nostrils are located towards the top of the beak, allowing the bird to breathe while it is sifting for food.  It is specialized for scooping prey out of the water.    Birds feed mainly by touch, as the water that they forage in tends to be murky.  The open bill is pointed underwater and swung back and forth in large arcs
•         Like flamingos, much of the bird’s pink color comes from the carotenoids in the crustaceans and algae upon which it feeds.  Birds kept in zoos can obtain the pink color by being fed commercial flamingo diet
•      Voice is described as a low barking sound
• ·       Nestlings are sometimes predated by eagles, turkey vultures, and raccoons
•         Tropical populations are sedentary.  Subtropical ones may migrate slightly, usually in response to rainfall patterns and the availability of food (i.e., may migrate from Florida to Cuba)
•          Roseate spoonbills feature in the plot of the James Bond novel Dr. No; the namesake villain’s acquisition and destruction of a spoonbill nesting area sets off a chain of events that brings Bond into a conflict with him.  The author of the book, Ian Fleming, was an ornithologist who wrote about the species in his book Birds of the West Indies
•          Historically the species was hunted heavily for its feathers and nearly extirpated from the United States, but the practice has largely ended and the birds are on the rebound, recolonizing the US in the 20^th century.  Today the most significant threat is loss of habitat.  In areas with loss of trees they will nest closer to the ground, which makes nests more vulnerable to predators