Royal Spoonbill

Royal Spoonbill

Taxobox
name = Royal Spoonbill


image_width = 250px
status = LC
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo = Ciconiiformes
familia = Threskiornithidae
genus = "Platalea"
species = "P. regia"
binomial = "Platalea regia"
binomial_authority = Gould, 1838

The Royal Spoonbill ("Platalea regia"), also known as the Black-billed Spoonbill, occurs in intertidal flats and shallows of fresh and saltwater wetlands in Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. It has also been recorded as a vagrant in New Caledonia. The Royal Spoonbill feeds by sweeping its bill from side to side. It always flies with its head extended. Widespread throughout its large range, the Royal Spoonbill is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Description

The Royal Spoonbill is a large white bird with a black, spoon-shaped bill. It is a wading bird and has long legs for walking through water. It eats fish and other water animals, such as shellfish, crabs and frogs, catching its prey by making a side-to-side movement with its bill.

Breeding

When they are breeding, long white plumes grow from the back of their heads and coloured patches appear on the face. The nest is an open platform of sticks in a tree in which the female lays two or three eggs. The chicks hatch after 21 days. The birds are highly sensitive to disturbance in the breeding season. In Australia, whole colonies have been known to desert their eggs after a minor upset.

References

* Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern

External links

* [http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=3803&m=0 BirdLife Species Factsheet]
* [http://www.redlist.org/search/details.php?species=49637 IUCN Red List]


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • royal spoonbill — karališkoji girnovė statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas atitikmenys: lot. Platalea regia angl. royal spoonbill vok. Königslöffler, m rus. королевская колпица, f pranc. spatule royale, f ryšiai: platesnis terminas – girnovės …   Paukščių pavadinimų žodynas

  • Spoonbill — Spoon bill ( b[i^]l ), n. (Zo[ o]l.) (a) Any one of several species of wading birds of the genera {Ajaja} and {Platalea}, and allied genera, in which the long bill is broadly expanded and flattened at the tip. [1913 Webster] Note: The roseate… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Spoonbill — Taxobox name = Spoonbills image width = 200px image caption = Royal spoonbill image width = 250px regnum = Animalia phylum = Chordata classis = Aves ordo = Ciconiiformes familia = Threskiornithidae subfamilia = Plateinae subdivision ranks =… …   Wikipedia

  • spoonbill — /ˈspunbɪl / (say spoohnbil) noun 1. any of several wading birds closely related to the ibis and having a long, flat bill with a spoon like tip, as the royal spoonbill, Platalea regia, of Australasia and certain islands to the north. 2. any of… …  

  • spoonbill — /spoohn bil /, n. 1. any of several wading birds of the family Plataleidae, related to the ibises, having a long, flat bill with a spoonlike tip. 2. any of various birds having a similar bill, as the shoveler duck. 3. the paddlefish. [1670 80;… …   Universalium

  • Eurasian Spoonbill — Conservation status Least Concern ( …   Wikipedia

  • Ajaja ajaja — Spoonbill Spoon bill ( b[i^]l ), n. (Zo[ o]l.) (a) Any one of several species of wading birds of the genera {Ajaja} and {Platalea}, and allied genera, in which the long bill is broadly expanded and flattened at the tip. [1913 Webster] Note: The… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Platalea leucorodia — Spoonbill Spoon bill ( b[i^]l ), n. (Zo[ o]l.) (a) Any one of several species of wading birds of the genera {Ajaja} and {Platalea}, and allied genera, in which the long bill is broadly expanded and flattened at the tip. [1913 Webster] Note: The… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Platalea regia — Spoonbill Spoon bill ( b[i^]l ), n. (Zo[ o]l.) (a) Any one of several species of wading birds of the genera {Ajaja} and {Platalea}, and allied genera, in which the long bill is broadly expanded and flattened at the tip. [1913 Webster] Note: The… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Melbourne Zoo — Royal Melbourne Zoological Garden The main entrance to Melbourne Zoo, 1940. Date opened 6 October 1862 …   Wikipedia

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