Eurasian Spoonbill

The Eurasian Spoonbill or Common Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia) is a wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae, breeding in southern Eurasia from Spain to Japan, and also in North Africa. In Europe, only The Netherlands, Spain, Austria, Hungary and Greece have sizeable populations.^[1] Most birds migrate to the tropics in winter, with European breeders mainly going to Africa, but a few remaining in mild winter areas of western Europe south to the United Kingdom.

This species is almost unmistakable in most of its range. The breeding bird is all white except for its dark legs, black bill with a yellow tip, and a yellow breast patch like a pelican. It has a crest in the breeding season. Non-breeders lack the crest and breast patch, and immature birds have a pale bill and black tips to the primary flight feathers. Unlike herons, spoonbills fly with their necks outstretched.

The Eurasian Spoonbill differs from the African Spoonbill with which in overlaps in winter, in that the latter species has a red face and legs, and no crest.

Taxonomy

A study of mitochondrial DNA of the spoonbills found that the Eurasian Spoonbill is sister taxon to a clade containing the Royal and Black-faced Spoonbills.^[2]

The Eurasian Spoonbill has three subspecies:

• P. l. leucorodia, the nominate race, occupies all the range except as below.
• P. l. balsaci. Islands off the Banc d'Arguin, Mauritania.
• P. l. archeri. The coasts of the Red Sea and Somalia.

Birds in Asia are sometimes separated as P. l. major

Habitat and behaviour

The Eurasian Spoonbill occurs in marshy wetlands with some open shallow water, nesting in colonies in trees or reedbeds. It does not usually share colonies with storks or herons.

The Eurasian Spoonbill usually lays four eggs. It feeds on various fish, crustaceans and amphibians.

The Eurasian Spoonbill is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.

Notes

References and external links

• BirdLife International (2009). "Platalea leucorodia". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 3.1. International Union for Conservation of Nature. http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/144753. Retrieved 20 May 2011. 
• Handbook of the Birds of the World 1: 504–505. Lynx Edicions.
• Common Spoonbill videos, photos & sounds on the Internet Bird Collection
• Overdijk, O. 2002. Lepelaar Platalea leucorodia, p. 88. SOVON Vogelonderzoek Nederland 2002. Atlas van de Nederlandse Broedvogels 1998–2000 – Nederlandse Fauna 5, Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum Naturalis, KNNV Uitgeverij & European Invertebrate Survey-Nederland, Leiden. ISBN 90-5011-161-0