Field card Swamp

Roseate Spoonbill

Platalea ajaja

Lives
Coastal marshes, mangroves and shallow lagoons from the southern US to South America
Size
About 70 to 85 cm long, wings up to about 1.3 m across
Eats
Small fish, shrimp, crayfish and water insects
Status
Least Concern (IUCN)

Roseate Spoonbill facts

  • It sweeps its spoon-shaped bill from side to side through the water, and snaps it shut when it feels food.
  • Its pink comes from pigments in the shrimp and crayfish it eats.
  • Grown-ups have bare, greenish heads with no feathers.

Myth Spoonbills are a kind of flamingo.

Fact They're cousins of ibises; flamingos are a different family.

In Word Biome

The Roseate Spoonbill is one of the creatures in the Swamp world. Watch for it in costume as the Lantern Spoonbill. Tap it in the game to open this field card.

Costume: Lantern Spoonbill

Sources

Checked against: IUCN Red List, Audubon, Cornell Lab of Ornithology.