The Roseate Spoonbill -- once seen – you’ll never forget. It’s a two-and-a-half-foot-plus bird that, as an adult, is mostly pink, but also with splashes of red, an orange-buff tail, and a gray-green head. But that’s not all! It also has a stout, long, bill that is tipped with what appears like the bowl of a spoon. But it’s not a spoon. It’s more like a flattened spoon that opens and closes fast like some large paper clips. That “spoon” – which gave the bird its name – is not present on a hatchling chick. But it very quickly develops as the nestling begins to grow. In a sense it’s more like a catcher’s mitt on a strong, fast-closing, hand. A spoonbill walks slowly through shallow water swinging its highly sensitive “spoon” from side-to-side – then, when it senses potential food, the broad spoon opens to quickly and easily capture it.
Roseate Spoonbill
