Roseate Spoonbill Identification

The Four Keys to ID

• Size & Shape

  Roseate Spoonbills are medium-sized waterbirds with a football-shaped body and long legs. The long bill that is flattened into a spoon at the end protrudes from their small head. They fly with their long necks outstretched and often rest with it curled into an S.

  Relative Size

  Larger than a White Ibis, smaller than a Great Blue Heron.

  goose-sized or larger

  Measurements

  • Both Sexes
  • • Length: 27.9-33.9 in (71-86 cm)
    • Weight: 42.3-63.5 oz (1200-1800 g)
    • Wingspan: 47.2-51.2 in (120-130 cm)

  © James Rieman / Macaulay Library

• Color Pattern

  Roseate Spoonbills are pale pink birds with brighter pink shoulders and rump. They have a white neck and a partially feathered, yellowish green head from which their red eyes shine. Juveniles are paler pink and have a completely feathered head for 3 years until they attain adult breeding plumage.

• Behavior

  Roseate Spoonbills wade through shallow water swinging their head side to side with their bill under the water feeling for prey. They tend to forage with their bodies held in a horizontal position just above the water with head hanging down. They fly with the neck outstretched, dipping slightly below the body. Spoonbills forage, roost, and nest in groups often with other ibises, herons, and egrets.
• Habitat

  Roseate Spoonbills forage in the shallows of fresh, brackish, and marine waters including bays, mangroves, forested swamps, and wetlands. They nest and roost in trees and shrubs along the water's edge.