Eurasian Spoonbill

The Eurasian Spoonbill is a large, all-white wading bird best identified by its long, flattened bill with a yellow tip, giving it the characteristic spoon shape shared by all spoonbill species. Breeding adults develop a shaggy crest at the back of the head and a yellowish patch on the breast, while the legs are black.

Unlike its pink American relative, the Eurasian Spoonbill is clean white, making the bill shape its most important identifying feature. It often feeds in small groups, sweeping its bill through shallow water in a distinctive side-to-side motion.

Key field marks

• All-white plumage
• Long, flat, black bill with a yellow tip, spoon-shaped at the end
• Shaggy crest and yellow breast patch in breeding adults
• Black legs

Similar species

White egrets can look similar at rest, but the spoonbill's uniquely flattened, spoon-tipped bill is unmistakable and very different from an egret's straight, pointed bill. The African Spoonbill and Roseate Spoonbill are geographically separate relatives, distinguished by bare face color (red-pink in African Spoonbill) or overall pink plumage (Roseate Spoonbill).

Habitat

Eurasian Spoonbills use shallow freshwater and brackish wetlands, including lakes, estuaries, lagoons, and flooded marshes.

Range and migration

The species breeds locally across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, with an isolated population in parts of Africa; northern populations migrate to wintering grounds in Africa and South Asia, while some southern populations are more sedentary.

Behavior

Sociable, Eurasian Spoonbills forage and roost in groups, feeding with a steady, rhythmic side-to-side sweeping motion of the bill through shallow water while wading slowly forward.

Voice

Largely silent away from breeding colonies, where adults give occasional low grunting or clattering bill sounds.

Feeding

It sweeps its partly open bill through shallow water, snapping shut on contact with small fish, aquatic insects, and crustaceans detected by touch rather than sight.

Nesting and breeding

Colonial nester, building stick platforms in reedbeds, low trees, or bushes near water; clutches typically contain 3-4 eggs.