Eurasian Spoonbill

Platalea leucorodia

Other Pics: Spoonbill Taking Off

Other Names

  White Spoonbill, European Spoonbill, Common Spoonbill   Spatule blanche   Löffler   Espátula Común   Skedstork   Lepelaar   Spatola

World: Europe mainly southern Spain and SE Europe but also the Netherlands and occasionally the British Isles. Also C and E Asia extending S to the Persian Gulf, India ans Sri Lanka. Winters SE China and Africa.

Kenya: Very occasional Palearctic migrant which wanders to L Turkana and the Rift Valley Lakes.

This is a partially nocturnal bird which feeds by sweeping the end of its partly opened bill from side to side while wading through shallow water (although it will wade through deeper water submerging virtually the whole bill). Its diet consists of aquatic insects and their larvae as well as molluscs, crustaceans, fish, amphibians, reptiles, worms, leeches and even plant material. They generally occur in small groups but in Kenya are seen singly.

Eurasian Spoonbills are colonial nesters but within their own species. They also tend not to associate with other long-legged waders when feeding. They are mostly silent but even when not silent they have a very quiet, almost inaudible, voice.

The only species with which they can be confused is the African Spoonbill but this has bare red facial skin and red legs.