~ Written by ABNC Volunteer David Ozro Woods. David is a PhD student of Ecology & Evolution at the University of Houston. He has a bachelor's degree in Natural Resources: Conservation Biology with minors in Marine Science and Plant Science.

*P. ajaja* in flight on Armand Bayou Photo credit: Gary Seloff

Roseate spoonbills are a social bird that lives in salt and freshwater marshy habitats throughout South and Central America and up to the Gulf Coast of the United States. It is the only spoonbill species found in the Americas.

They group in small flocks and associate with other wading birds. They feed in shallow, muddy waters and, like flamingos, get their pink coloration from the foods that they eat, which include crustaceans, other invertebrates, and small fish. Its spoonbill allows it to sift easily through mud.

They nest in colonies with egrets, ibises, and herons. Nesting habitat tends to be on islands that have trees and large shrubs near the water. Clutch size is typically 1-5 eggs that are pale white to light green covered with brown spots. They incubate for 22 days and are nestlings for 35-42 days after that.

Roseate spoonbills are listed as being of “least concern,” and are common in Florida, Texas, and Louisiana.; however, they are vulnerable to habitat degradation. They were very common in the southeastern USA until the 1860s until hunting drove them to local extinction. They began to recolonize the southeastern USA in the early 1900s.

Roseate Spoonbill