Roseate Spoonbill - Water Birds Series

Description

The Roseate Spoonbill is a large wader than can measure up to 32 inches in length. The spoonbill's bald, gray head; large, spoon-like bill, bright red shoulder patches, pink coloring, and long, red legs make it unmistakable at close range.

Diet

The Roseate Spoonbill swings its unusual bill back in forth through shallow water to get small crustaceans, and aquatic invertebrates.

Range and Habitat

The Roseate Spoonbill is the most common pink bird in the Florida Everglades. Found in the mangrove swamps and marshes of the deep south (mainly south Florida, Louisiana, and Texas), the Roseate Spoonbill often joins Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, and Great Blue Herons in large, colorful flocks and breeding colonies. If you're ever in south Florida, and you think you've just seen an odd looking flamingo fly by, it's likely a Roseate Spoonbill.

Status

Much like other herons and egrets, the Roseate Spoonbill was once hunted to the brink of extinction in the early 1900's for its plumes and feathers. The ornate feathers were used in the millinery trade as decorations for lady's hats. Despite widespread habitat destruction today, spoonbill numbers have increased with the fall of the millinery trade.