ComingsBirds.com/Florida

To the Beauty of Birds

The Roseate Spoonbill Ajaja ajaja belongs to the family Threskiornithidae consisting of Ibises and Spoonbills, and the subfamily of Plataleinae or spoonbills and genus Platalea spoonbills:

Common Spoonbill, Platalea leucorodia'
Black-faced Spoonbill, Platalea minor
African Spoonbill, Platalea alba
Royal Spoonbill, Platalea regia
Yellow-billed Spoonbill, Platalea flavipes
Roseate Spoonbill, Platalea ajaja

Evolution and natural selection has done a lot of strange things to bills but the spoonbill are one of the most dramatic. Its range is shown in the map from NatureServe. It is a permanent resident of southern Florida, coasts along the Gulf of Mexico and non-jungle South America.

These photos were taken at the 'DIng' Darling NWR. For close-up views of the bill see www.ComingsBirds.com/DiscoveryCove - Spoonbill Roseate.

Roseate Spoonbill

Roseate Spoonbill 3542

Roseate Spoonbill 3544