Wednesday, 3 December 2025

Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology:  Platalea ("spoonbill") ajaja (name in Tupi language)

Adult Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) at Tarcoles, Costa Rica - November 2025

Featured Subspecies: N/A 
Weight: 1.2-1.8kg  /  Length: 61-86cm  /  Wingspan: 122-133cm
NO UK STATUS IUCN Red List: Least Concern

Similarly to flamingos, roseate spoonbills gain their distinctive pink coloration from their diet - speciedifically carotenoids found within their primarily invertibrate prey. They are distributed from the Caribbean to Argentina, primarily in coastal regions and wetlands.  They represent part of the oldest branch from the core spoonbill lineage, but while some expects split them into a separate genus Ajaia with the yellow-billed spoonbill, most keep all spoonbills within Platalea.

Related Species:
Order: Pelecaniformes
Family: Threskiornithidae
Genus: Platalea
SUBSPECIES: none - monotypic 

 - Sighting Locations -

COSTA RICA - Spanish - Espátula Rosada (pink spatula)

Locally common in suitable habitat
 - COSTA RICA 2025 TRIP: Seen at Tarcoles


Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

No comments:

Post a Comment