Roseate Spoonbill

Roseate Spoonbill
	;
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia;
Phylum:	Chordata;
Class:	Aves;
Order:	Ciconiiformes (disputed);
Family:	Threskiornithidae;
Genus:	Platalea;
Species:	P. ajaja;
Binomial name
	Platalea ajaja; (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
	Ajaja ajaja

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The Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja, sometimes separated in the monotypic genus Ajaia) is a wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae. It is a mainly resident breeder in South America, the Caribbean, and the Gulf coast of the USA, although vagrant birds have been sighted as far north as Delaware^[1], Indiana^[2], and Kansas^[3].

The Roseate Spoonbill nests in trees, often mangroves, laying 2 to 5 eggs. It is 80 cm tall, with a 120–130 cm wingspan. It is long-legged and long-necked and has a long, spatulate bill. Adults have a bare greenish head, white neck, breast and back, and are otherwise a deep pink. The bill is grey.

Sexes are similar, but immature birds have white, feathered heads and the pink of the plumage is paler. The bill is yellowish or pinkish. Unlike herons, spoonbills fly with their necks outstretched. In 2006, a banded bird 16 years old was discovered, making it the oldest known individual in the wild ^[4].

This species feeds in shallow fresh or coastal waters on fish, frogs crustaceans and shrimp, swinging its bill from side to side as it steadily walks through the water, often in groups.