Royal Spoonbill

Images ©:
©Bob Winters

Platalea regia

Large spoonbill, up to 81 cm. Black facial skin, legs and feet. In breeding season, has a distinctive nuchal (back of head or nape of neck) crest, which can be up to 20 cm long in male birds (usually shorter in females). Crest can be erected during mating displays to reveal bright pink skin underneath. Breeding adults also have a creamy-yellow wash across the lower neck and upper breast and a strip of bright pink skin along the edge of the underwings which is obvious when the bird opens its wings. Facial skin is black with a yellow patch above the eye and a red patch in the middle of the forehead, in front of the crest feathers. Females are slightly smaller with shorter legs and bill. Out of the breeding season, the nuchal crests are reduced, the underwing is not bright pink and the plumage is less brilliant, often appearing 'dirty'.

Details
Type
Bird
Group
Animals
Spoonbill
Biology

Breeding season: October to March. Clutch size is two to four. Forms monogamous pairs for the duration of the breeding season. Nests in colonies alongside many other waterbirds, including Yellow-billed Spoonbills, ibises, herons and cormorants. Nest is a solid bowl-shape bulit with sticks and twigs lined with leaves and water plants, usually placed in the crown of a tree over water or among high reeds and rushes. Nest sites may be reused year after year. Both sexes incubate the eggs and feed the young. When threatened at the nest, the adult birds will raise all their feathers to appear much larger and crouch down low over the nest.
Distinctive Markings

Black, spoon-shaped bill.
Taxonomy
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Aves
Order
Ciconiiformes
Family
Threskiornithidae
Genus
Platalea
Species
regia

Source: Atlas of Living Australia

The Royal Spoonbill can feed faster and on larger prey than the Yellow-billed Spoonbill, as it has a shorter, broader bill with more papillae (touch receptors) inside the spoon.

Interesting Facts
Diet

Carnivore. Feeds on fish in freshwater, and on shrimps in tidal flats. It will also eat other crustaceans and aquatic insects.
Habitat

Found in freshwater wetlands and swamps, and saltwater and brackish coastal areas.
Native Status
Native to Australia
Audio
Sounds
Grunts, growls and soft honks. Also makes non-vocal sounds such as bill-snapping and "wing-woofing" during aggressive displays.