A small group of Eurasian Spoonbills, Platalea leucorodia, in flight above Marismas de Barbate, Andalucía, southern Spain.
There are six species of Spoonbill which, as a family, are distributed over most of the world. Eurasian Spoonbills are the most widespread, and are found in most of Europe and Asia, as far east as Japan, and also in North Africa. They are long-legged wading birds, currently grouped with the Old World Ibises.
They are easily recognised by their large size and spatulate beaks which are long, flat and wider toards the tip.
Spoonbills feed by sweeping their beaks from side to side in the water to filter out aquatic insects, molluscs, newts, crustaceans, worms, leeches, frogs, tadpoles and small fish. The birds often paddle their feet in the mud at the bottom of water to disturb possible prey items.
All photos are copyright © Liz Leyden, all rights reserved.
The main photo at the top of the page is part of a combo image which is available to license as a stock photo from my portfolio at iStock.
I have two other combo photos of Spoonbills flying as a flock available to license on iStock. One is a Spoonbill flock against a clear blue sky, and the other, in a wider aspect ration is a Spoonbill flock flying in front of a background of wispy clouds.
