Roseate Spoonbill

Ajaia ajaja

Wingspan: 50 - 53"
Length: 30 - 34"
Weight: 3.3 pounds

Male/Female similar


Roseate Spoonbills are found mostly in Florida and coastal Texas.

Physical Description:

A brilliant pink bird with blood-red "drip" on the shoulders; white neck and back, orange tail; eyes ruby red or scarlet; naked head is pale green to golden buff at pairing. Straight bill with broad spatulate tip.

Habitat:

Coastal marshes, lagoons, mud flats, mangrove keys.

Feeding Habits:

Roseates swing their spatulate bills from side to side as they wade in shallow water, feeling for small fishes, crustaceans, mollusks, slugs, and acquatic insects.

When nerve endings along the inner lining of their bills indicate contact with a living animal, the roseate snaps its bill shut, trapping prey. They feel for prey blindly, even if they can see it.

Roseates are typically seen in small groups, often with other wading birds.

Nesting:

In rookery with herons, ibises and other water birds, usually on an island. Nests are constructed of sticks and are usually 5 - 15 feet off the ground in bushes or trees.

Eggs:

2 - 3 dull white eggs with dark spots and blotches.

Incubation:

By both sexes, 23 - 24 days, one brood per year.

Chicks hatch with bill already spatulate. Chicks leave nest 35 - 42 days after hatching, but does not perfect flight until 49 - 56 days old; not an adult until the third year.