Eurasian Spoonbill

Platalea leucorodia Linnaeus, 1758

≈79 cmLength130 cmWingspan1.9 kgWeight

This almost entirely white bird has a large, lute-shaped bill with a yellow tip.

Busiest months: December–January, April–May and September · Most records: Spain, Portugal, India

Looks like Black-faced Spoonbill

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

Large, lute-shaped bill with a yellow tip
Yellow bare facial skin, with a fine black stripe from the lores to the eye
Crest present in the breeding season; crest and breast feathers yellow
Neck extended in flight

Male, female and young

The crest and yellow breast patch are absent in the non-breeding season; juveniles have a pale bill and black tips to the primaries.

Voice

Mostly quiet; breeding colonies mainly produce bill-clapping sounds, with occasional growls or honking calls.

Similar species

Black-faced Spoonbill

Eurasian Spoonbill is slightly larger, with less black on the face, a yellow bill tip and yellow bare facial skin.

Where and when it's recorded

Eurasian Spoonbill has been recorded at 1,471 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 91 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Urdaibai RB – bird center y laguna de OruetaSpain3,396 records
Bharatpur – Keoladeo Ghana NPIndia3,055 records
Titchwell Marsh RSPB ReserveUnited Kingdom2,714 records

More places

Lezíria Grande de Vila Franca de Xira – área geralPortugal2,461 records
Lagoa dos SalgadosPortugal2,436 records
Txingudi – PlaiaundiSpain2,378 records
Desembocadura del Guadalhorce – ÁreaSpain2,345 records
Doñana PN – Marisma de El RocíoSpain2,012 records
Azud de RiolobosSpain1,797 records
Frampton Marsh RSPB ReserveUnited Kingdom1,729 records

Countries and regions with the most records

Spain Portugal India United Kingdom China Israel France Sri Lanka

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The Eurasian spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia), or common spoonbill, is a wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae, native to Europe, Africa and Asia. The species is partially migratory with the more northerly breeding populations mostly migrating south for the winter.

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