BirdUp · Species
Royal Spoonbill
Platalea regiaGould, 1838
Updated
- Order
- PELECANIFORMES
- Family
- Threskiornithidae
- Genus
- Platalea
At a glance
The Royal Spoonbill is a very large bird, about 74–81 cm long, native to Australia. It can be seen year-round.
- Size
- 74–81 cm
- Origin
- Native
- Best seen
- Year-round
- Commonness
- Very common
01 · Identification
How to tell it apart
What does a Royal Spoonbill look like?
The Royal Spoonbill is a very large bird, about 74–81 cm long and weighing 1400–2070 g.
The royal spoonbill, also known as the black-billed spoonbill lives in intertidal flats and shallows of fresh and saltwater wetlands in Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. It has also been recorded as a vagrant in New Caledonia. It is one of 6 spoonbill species world wide. The royal spoonbill lives in wetlands and feeds on crustaceans, fish and small insects by sweeping its bill from side to side. It always flies with its head extended. Widespread throughout its large range, the royal spoonbill is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Description · wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
03 · When
When to look
When can you see a Royal Spoonbill?
The Royal Spoonbill is present across its Australian range year-round, so it can be seen in any month.
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
05 · Behaviour
Habits and haunts
What does a Royal Spoonbill eat?
The Royal Spoonbill feeds on intertidal invertebrates and fish/invertebrates, usually foraging in flocks or alone.
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