Roseate Spoonbill - Summertime on the Shoreline
A bird a day keeps the chaos away
Roseate Spoonbill
ROSSPO
Platalea ajaja
ORDER: Pelecaniformes
FAMILY: Threskiornithidae
Southwest Florida Coast, summer birds edition
Unique pink wading bird with long, flat, spoon-shaped bill. Adults are mostly pink overall, with scarlet wing patches, orange tail, and bare pale-green head. Immatures are duller than adults but still washed with pale pink. Sometimes mistaken for a flamingo, but note spoonbill's distinctive bill, shorter legs, and shorter neck. Occurs in freshwater and saltwater wetlands from the Gulf Coast of the U.S. through much of South America. Feeds by sifting side-to-side through shallow water. Often in small loose groups, sometimes with other wading birds like storks and herons.
For more information about identifying birds, we suggest the following websites:
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology
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What a spectacular bird!