African Spoonbill
Encyclopedia
The African Spoonbill (Platalea alba) is a long-legged wading bird of the ibis
and spoonbill
family Threskiornithidae. The species is widespread across Africa
and Madagascar
, including Botswana, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. It lives in marshy wetlands with some open shallow water and nests in colonies in trees or reedbeds. They usually don't share colonies with stork
s or heron
s. The African Spoonbill feeds in shallow water, and fishes for various fish
, molluscs, amphibians, crustaceans, insect
s and larvae. The animal uses its open bill to catch foods by swinging it from side-to-side in the water, which catches foods in its mouth. Long legs and thin, pointed toes enable it to walk easily through varying depths of water.
The African Spoonbill is almost unmistakable through most of its range
. The breeding bird is all white except for its red legs and face and long grey spatulate bill
. It has no crest, unlike the Common Spoonbill
. Immature birds lack the red face and have a yellow bill. Unlike herons, spoonbills fly with their necks outstretched.
The African Spoonbill is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA
) applies.
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Ibis
The ibises are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae....
and spoonbill
Spoonbill
Spoonbills are a group of large, long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae, which also includes the Ibises.All have large, flat, spatulate bills and feed by wading through shallow water, sweeping the partly opened bill from side to side...
family Threskiornithidae. The species is widespread across Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
, including Botswana, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. It lives in marshy wetlands with some open shallow water and nests in colonies in trees or reedbeds. They usually don't share colonies with stork
Stork
Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family Ciconiidae. They are the only family in the biological order Ciconiiformes, which was once much larger and held a number of families....
s or heron
Heron
The herons are long-legged freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae. There are 64 recognised species in this family. Some are called "egrets" or "bitterns" instead of "heron"....
s. The African Spoonbill feeds in shallow water, and fishes for various fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
, molluscs, amphibians, crustaceans, insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s and larvae. The animal uses its open bill to catch foods by swinging it from side-to-side in the water, which catches foods in its mouth. Long legs and thin, pointed toes enable it to walk easily through varying depths of water.
The African Spoonbill is almost unmistakable through most of its range
Range (biology)
In biology, the range or distribution of a species is the geographical area within which that species can be found. Within that range, dispersion is variation in local density.The term is often qualified:...
. The breeding bird is all white except for its red legs and face and long grey spatulate bill
Beak
The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young...
. It has no crest, unlike the Common Spoonbill
Common Spoonbill
The Eurasian Spoonbill or Common Spoonbill 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...
. Immature birds lack the red face and have a yellow bill. Unlike herons, spoonbills fly with their necks outstretched.
Breeding
The African Spoonbill begins breeding in the winter, which lasts until spring. The spoonbill's nest, generally located in trees above water, is built from sticks and reeds and lined with leaves. Three to five eggs are laid by the female birds, usually during the months of April or May. The eggs are incubated by both parents for up to 29 days, and upon hatching the young birds are cared for by both parents for around 20 to 30 days. The birds are ready to leave the nest soon afterward, and begin flying after another four weeks.The African Spoonbill is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA
AEWA
The Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds is the largest of its kind developed so far under the Bonn Convention. It was concluded on 16 June 1995 at The Hague, the Netherlands and entered into force on 1 November 1999 after the required number of at least fourteen...
) applies.
Media
Further reading
- Grzimek, H. C. Bernhard, ed. (1972). Grzimeks Animal Life Encyclopedia of Birds. New York, New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company.
- Middleton, Alex L. A. and Dr. Christopher M. Perrins, eds. (1985). The Encyclopedia of Birds. New York, New York: Facts on File, Inc.