Birds · Pelecaniformes · Threskiornithidae

African Spoonbill

Platalea alba

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

A wading bird with white plumage, a bare face of intense red and red legs, features that separate it from the European spoonbill. Its bill is long, grey and flattened at the tip into a spoon, with which it sweeps the water from side to side to detect prey by touch.

Weight

1.5 kg on average

Diet

Carnivore

Feeds mainly on other animals.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Colony

Lives in large concentrations, often for breeding reasons.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

Estimated population

Between 7,300 and 73,000 mature individuals, with a stable population

FreshwaterCarnivore Diurnal Colonial Bird Freshwater

44countries 67parks8same family

Fun facts

It feeds by touch, not by sight: it walks along sweeping the water with its bill half open and snaps it shut the moment it brushes against prey.
It is covered by the AEWA Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds.
Its colonies are usually single-species, unlike those of most colonial African wading birds.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
Habitat & environment: Marshy wetlands with shallow, open water. It nests in colonies set in trees or reedbeds, and generally does not share a colony with storks or herons
Size at birth: A chick covered in white down, with a short bill: it does not take on the spoon shape until thirty days
Sexual maturity: About 3 years
Gestation / incubation: Up to 29 days, with both parents incubating. The chicks are tended by both parents for 20 to 30 days, leave the nest shortly afterwards and begin to fly about four weeks later
Litter / clutch size: 3-5 eggs; some sources give clutches of 2-3

Sources consulted: IUCN Red List; Wikipedia (African spoonbill); Maryland Zoo (ficha de especie); Acuerdo AEWA sobre aves acuáticas migratorias afroeurasiáticas; Avibase