Bird of the Week Invitation: XLII
I am staying with the water bird theme and this week is all about Royal Spoonbills Platalea regia. They are found almost everywhere in Australia except the south-eastern region.
Royal Spoonbills are also found in New Zealand, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and on some south-western Pacific islands.
Spoonbills are rather distinctive. Even in profile you can tell what bird you are looking at.
“The Royal Spoonbill is found in shallow freshwater and saltwater wetlands, inter-tidal mud flats and wet grasslands. Both permanent and temporary inland waters are used when available in the arid zone.”
“The Royal Spoonbill feeds mainly on fish in freshwater, and on shrimps in tidal flats; it will also eat other crustaceans and aquatic insects. The structure of its bill limits it to feeding in water that is less than 40 cm deep over sand, mud or clay, where it can sweep the water with its bill. It uses several methods to catch food: slow sweeping from side to side with an open bill, rapid sweeping while walking fast or even running through the water, as well as dragging, probing or grabbing. The spatulate bill has many vibration detectors, called papillae, on the inside of the spoon, which means the bird can feel for prey items even in murky water and can feed by day or night. Once food is caught, it lifts its bill up and lets the items slide down its throat. It will bash shrimps against hard objects to remove their shells.”
“The 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.”
They are a strange looking bird. They make sound like grunts, growls and soft honks. I didn’t find an audio on my usual source, but after the last couple of birds, you should be spared.
Royal Spoonbills even look strange when they fly
Royal Spoonbills are aptly named as they do have a commanding presence
REF: https://australian.museum/learn/animals/birds/royal-spoonbill-platalea-regia/
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