Roseate Spoonbill

Platalea ajaja

Espátula Rosada,
Cuchareta

Audio
(M. Oberle)

A long-legged, bright pink bird with a spatula-shaped bill. Length: 70-90 cm.; weight: 1,200-1,800 g. Audio (M. Oberle). A rare visitor to Puerto Rico, although it is common in nearby Hispaniola. It breeds from southern Texas to northern Argentina, and on Cuba and Hispaniola. It feeds by swinging its bill back and forth in water or mud. Vibration detectors on the inside of its bill sense the presence of food. It has occasionally occurred at the Boquerón Wildlife Refuge in recent years, most likely involving dispersal from Hispaniola.

TAXONOMY: CICONIIFORMES; THRESKIORNITHIDAE; Plataleinae. Formerly in the genus Ajaia.

References

Bent, A.C. 1926. Life histories of North American marsh birds. Smithsonian Instit. U.S. National Museum Bull. 135. (Reprinted by Dover Press, NY, 1963).

del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott, and J. Sargatal, eds. 1992. Handbook of Birds of the World, Vol. 1. Ostrich to ducks. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

Dumas, J. V. 2000. Roseate Spoonbill (Ajaia ajaja). No. 490 in The Birds of North America (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.

Ehrlich, P.R., D.S. Dobkin, and D. Wheye. 1988. The birder’s handbook: a field guide to the natural history of North American birds. Simon and Schuster/Fireside, NY.

Raffaele, H.A. 1989. A guide to the birds of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Princeton.

Raffaele, H.A. 1989. Una guía a las aves de Puerto Rico y las Islas Vírgenes. Publishing Resources, Inc., Santurce, PR.

Raffaele, H.A., J.W. Wiley, O.H. Garrido, A.R. Keith, and J.I. Raffaele. 1998. Guide to the birds of the West Indies. Princeton.

Roseate Spoonbill, Spanish text

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