Platalea leucorodia - Eurasian Spoonbill
Feather characters. Barbules are from short until medium length (0.6-1.2 mm), and are not, or only slightly pigmented. Borders between cells are visible, but hardly swollen and thus too small to qualify as nodes. These nodal structures (16-23 per mm) have about the same size along the entire length of the barbules, only slightly decreasing towards the tip. Villi are absent and internodes are straight. Prongs are equally distributed along the entire length of barbules and on both sides of the pennulum. Their length varies; the longest prongs can reach a length between 0.01 mm and half the length of the adjacent internode.
Field characters. Size 86 cm. Weight 1892 g (1656-2080) (Dunning, 1993). At once distinguished by white colouring and remarkable spatulate bill. Adult in summer with buffish-yellow patch at base of neck. Legs and bill black, the latter with a yellow point. Juvenile with black wing tips, no yellow patch on neck, flesh-coloured bill, and yellow to yellow-grey legs. Flies rather slowly with regular wing-beats, sometimes gliding; flocks mostly fly in line. Differs in flight from "white" herons by stretched neck and legs, and spoon-shaped bill.
Voice. A very silent bird. In breeding period, occasional growling sounds.
Distribution. Rare and endangered breeding bird; nests in colonies. Map: see MapIt.
Habitat. Breeds in reedy fringes of lakes and lagoons; feeds in fresh, salt, or brackish waters with bottoms of mud, clay, or sand.
Food. Mainly waterbeetles, dragonflies, caddisflies, locusts, Hemiptera and Diptera, small fish, crustaceans, molluscs, leeches, worms, reptiles and amphibians. Feeds in shallow water by making sweeping movements with submersed bill slightly opened.