Eurasian Spoonbill

The Eurasian spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia) is a large white waterbird, about 70–95 cm long with a wingspan of roughly 115–135 cm. Its most distinctive feature is the long black bill, flattened and widened into a spoon-shaped tip that is yellow in adults. Breeding birds develop a shaggy crest and often a warm yellowish patch across the upper breast, while juveniles have a paler bill and dark tips to the flight feathers.

In East Asia it can be confused with the rarer black-faced spoonbill (Platalea minor). Eurasian spoonbill is generally larger and has a feathered white face, whereas black-faced spoonbill has bare black facial skin continuous with its entirely dark bill.

Eurasian spoonbills depend on shallow wetlands where they can wade while feeding. They use freshwater marshes, floodplains, shallow lakes, reservoirs and river margins as well as brackish lagoons, estuaries, saltpans and tidal flats.

Water depth and access to undisturbed roosting and nesting sites are often more important than whether the water is fresh or saline. Colonies are typically close enough to productive feeding wetlands that adults can travel repeatedly between nests and shallow foraging areas.

The diet consists of small fish, crustaceans, aquatic insects and their larvae, molluscs, worms and other small aquatic animals; amphibians are taken less often. Prey varies strongly with locality and season.

The broad bill is used as a sensitive feeding tool. A bird walks through shallow water while sweeping the partly open bill from side to side. When prey touches the bill, it closes rapidly. Groups may feed side by side, each bird rhythmically sweeping through the water and sediment.

The species is usually quiet away from colonies. Feeding activity follows local water levels and tides, so birds may shift between sites through the day as shallow areas become available. In flight the neck is stretched forward and the legs trail behind, unlike herons, which retract the neck.

Eurasian spoonbills are social and commonly feed, rest and travel in groups. They often share wetlands and breeding colonies with herons, ibises, cormorants and other colonial waterbirds. Groups frequently rest together between feeding periods and may commute repeatedly between favoured feeding and roosting wetlands.

Movement patterns differ greatly among populations. Birds breeding in northern and continental parts of Europe and Asia often migrate long distances to wintering areas in the Mediterranean region, Africa, the Middle East, South Asia and East Asia. Populations in milder climates may remain year-round or make shorter seasonal movements.

A study published in 2022 of colour-ringed spoonbills from the Pannonian breeding population found that about 80% wintered in Africa and 20% in Europe. GPS tracking published in 2021 showed a different pattern in East Asia: birds from north-eastern China wintered mainly along the Jiangsu coast, while birds summering in Mongolia used inland wintering areas in the Yangtze River floodplain.

Eurasian spoonbills breed colonially, sometimes alongside other large waterbirds. Courtship includes bill movements, mutual preening and exchanges of nesting material between partners. Nests are built from sticks, reeds and other vegetation and may be placed in reedbeds, bushes, low trees or on islands, depending on the region and available protection from disturbance and predators.

A typical clutch contains three or four eggs. Both parents incubate for about 21–25 days and later feed the chicks by regurgitation. Young birds become capable of flight after roughly 45–50 days. Families can remain together for weeks afterwards; observations from Hungary documented parents travelling with fledged young for at least ten weeks after they left the colony, with parental feeding continuing during part of this period.

The Eurasian spoonbill is classified as least concern on the IUCN Red List. The species remains widespread across Europe, North Africa and much of Asia, but depends on shallow wetlands that can be altered by drainage, water management, pollution and disturbance.

State of India’s Birds 2025 classifies Eurasian spoonbill as High Priority and as a wetland specialist. The national long-term decline is estimated at about 46.8%, while the current annual decline is about 4.3%; both are classified as Rapid Decline.