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The African spoonbill (''Platalea alba'') is a long-legged wading birdHonoluluzoo.org
Accessed June 2011. of the
The African spoonbill begins breeding in the winter, which lasts until spring. During the breeding season, adult male African Spoonbills develop more plumage and brighter coloration. The spoonbill's nest, generally located in trees above water, is built from sticks and reeds and lined with leaves. Three to five eggs are laid by the female birds, usually during the months of April or May. The eggs are incubated by both parents for up to 29 days, and upon hatching the young birds are cared for by both parents for around 20 to 30 days. The birds are ready to leave the nest soon afterward, and begin flying after another four weeks.
The African spoonbill is one of the species to which the ''Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds'' (
Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds
{{Taxonbar, from=Q512348 Platalea Birds of Africa Birds of Madagascar Birds of Sub-Saharan Africa Birds described in 1786
Accessed June 2011.
ibis
The ibis () (collective plural ibises; classical plurals ibides and ibes) are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae that inhabit wetlands, forests and plains. "Ibis" derives from the Latin and Ancient Greek word f ...
and spoonbill
Spoonbills are a genus, ''Platalea'', of large, long-legged wading birds. The spoonbills have a global distribution, being found on every continent except Antarctica. The genus name ''Platalea'' derives from Ancient Greek and means "broad", refe ...
family Threskiornithidae. The species is widespread across Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
and Madagascar
Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
, including Botswana, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.
Biology
It lives in marshy wetlands with some open shallow water and nests in colonies in trees or reedbeds. They usually don't share colonies withstork
Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family Ciconiidae, and make up the order Ciconiiformes . Ciconiiformes previously included a number of other families, such as herons and ibise ...
s or heron
Herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 75 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genus ''Botaurus'' are referred to as bi ...
s. The African spoonbill feeds in shallow water, and fishes for various fish
A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...
, molluscs
Mollusca is a phylum of protostome, protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant taxon, extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum ...
, amphibians
Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniote, anamniotic, tetrapod, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class (biology), class Amphibia. In its broadest sense, it is a paraphyletic group encompassing all Tetrapod, tetrapods, but excl ...
, crustaceans
Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of Arthropod, arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquat ...
, insect
Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...
s and larvae. The animal will swing its open bill side-to-side in the water; when something touches the inside of the bill, the bill snaps shut, catching the prey. Long legs and thin, pointed toes enable it to walk easily through varying depths of water.
The African spoonbill is almost unmistakable through most of its range
Range may refer to:
Geography
* Range (geographic), a chain of hills or mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra)
** Mountain range, a group of mountains bordered by lowlands
* Range, a term used to i ...
. The breeding bird is all white except for its red legs and face and long grey spatulate bill. It has no crest, unlike the common spoonbill. Immature birds lack the red face and have a yellow bill. Unlike herons, spoonbills fly with their necks outstretched.
Breeding
The African spoonbill begins breeding in the winter, which lasts until spring. During the breeding season, adult male African Spoonbills develop more plumage and brighter coloration. The spoonbill's nest, generally located in trees above water, is built from sticks and reeds and lined with leaves. Three to five eggs are laid by the female birds, usually during the months of April or May. The eggs are incubated by both parents for up to 29 days, and upon hatching the young birds are cared for by both parents for around 20 to 30 days. The birds are ready to leave the nest soon afterward, and begin flying after another four weeks.
The African spoonbill is one of the species to which the ''Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds'' (AEWA
The Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds, or African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA), is an independent international treaty developed under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme's Convent ...
) applies.
References
Further reading
*Grzimek, H. C. Bernhard, ed. (1972). Grzimeks Animal Life Encyclopedia of Birds. New York, New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company. *Middleton, Alex L. A. and Dr. Christopher M. Perrins, eds. (1985). The Encyclopedia of Birds. New York, New York: Facts on File, Inc.External links
* African SpoonbillSpecies text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds
{{Taxonbar, from=Q512348 Platalea Birds of Africa Birds of Madagascar Birds of Sub-Saharan Africa Birds described in 1786