A pink roseate spoonbill with a spoon-shaped bill wading in water. — Photo: Mwanner, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Roseate Spoonbill

Platalea ajaja

A bright pink wading bird of the Americas that sweeps its spoon-shaped bill through shallow water to catch food.

🪿 Wading Birds

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About the Roseate Spoonbill

Roseate spoonbills stand up to 2.5 feet tall with wings up to 4 feet across. They are pink with a white neck, deep red patches on the wings and a yellow-green head. In the U.S. they live along the coasts of Florida, Georgia, Texas and Louisiana, and they breed south to Argentina and Chile. They scoop minnows, small crustaceans, insects and plants from shallow fresh and salt water.^[1]

Quick facts

Scientific name: Platalea ajaja^[2]
Size: Up to 2.5 feet tall, with a wingspan up to 4 feet.^[1]
Lifespan: About 10 years in the wild; up to 15 in human care.^[1]
Diet: Minnows, small crustaceans, insects and bits of plants.^[1]
Habitat: Marshes and mangroves.^[1]
Where it lives: Gulf and southeastern U.S. coasts south to Argentina, Chile and Uruguay.^[1]
Group life: Social; feeds, roosts and flies in groups.^[1]
Babies: One to five eggs; both parents incubate.^[1]
Conservation status: Least Concern (IUCN Red List, assessed 2016).^[2]

Fun facts

Spoonbills get their pink color from the crustaceans they eat.^[1]
They sleep standing on one leg.^[1]
Courting spoonbills dance and clap their bills.^[1]

Vocabulary

roseate: Rose-colored or pink.
wading bird: A long-legged bird that walks in shallow water to find food.
pigment: A natural coloring.
mangrove: A tree or swamp forest that grows in salty water along tropical coasts.
least concern: A conservation label meaning a species is widespread and not at risk of dying out soon.

See it in person

Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and AquariumOmaha, Nebraska · Simmons Aviary and LagoonSee this area on the zoo's website ↗

These zoos had this animal when we gathered our information, but animals sometimes move. Check the zoo's website or contact the zoo before you visit.

Sources

[1] Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute. “Roseate spoonbill.” https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/roseate-spoonbill (accessed 2026-10-02)
[2] IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. “Platalea ajaja (Roseate Spoonbill).” https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22697574/93621961 (accessed 2026-10-02)

Facts last checked 2026-10-02.

More Wading Birds

African Sacred IbisThreskiornis aethiopicusA white ibis with a black head and neck that ancient Egyptians honored as a symbol of the god Thoth.African SpoonbillPlatalea albaA pure white African wading bird with a red face and legs and a long, spoon-shaped bill for sweeping up fish.American FlamingoPhoenicopterus ruberThe brightest-colored flamingo, also called the Caribbean flamingo, that filter-feeds with its bill upside down.Black Crowned CraneBalearica pavoninaA dark West African crane with a golden crown of stiff feathers that roosts in trees and dances when it breeds.Blue CraneAnthropoides paradiseusThe national bird of South Africa, a blue-gray crane of grasslands famous for courtship dances that can last for hours.

Cattle EgretBubulcus ibisA small white heron that follows grazing animals to catch the insects they stir up, and has spread from Africa around the world.Chilean FlamingoPhoenicopterus chilensisA pink flamingo of the high, cold salt flats of the southern Andes that feeds with its head upside down.Grey Crowned CraneBalearica regulorum (East African crowned crane: B. r. gibbericeps)An endangered African crane with a crown of stiff golden feathers, shown on the flag of Uganda. Also called the East African crowned crane.Hadada IbisBostrychia hagedashA gray-brown African ibis with shiny green-purple wings, named for its loud "haa-haa-haa-de-dah" call.HamerkopScopus umbrettaA brown African wading bird with a hammer-shaped head that builds the biggest nest of any bird in Africa.Lesser FlamingoPhoeniconaias minorThe world's smallest flamingo, which filters tiny algae from salty lakes and gathers in flocks of tens of thousands.Madagascar Crested IbisLophotibis cristataA forest ibis found only on Madagascar, with a brown body, white wings and a shiny greenish-blue crest.Malagasy Sacred IbisThreskiornis bernieriAn endangered white ibis with a black head and pale blue eyes that lives along the coasts of western Madagascar and Aldabra.

Marabou StorkLeptoptilos crumeniferA huge, bald-headed African stork that feeds mostly on dead animals and often gathers near lakes, rivers, garbage dumps and fishing villages.Northern Bald IbisGeronticus eremitaA glossy black ibis with a bald red head, also called the waldrapp, that was once common in Europe and is now one of the world's rarest birds.Scarlet IbisEudocimus ruberA bright red wading bird of northern South America that feeds mostly on crayfish and small crabs.Snowy EgretEgretta thulaAn all-white heron of the Americas with a black bill and bright yellow feet, famous for its lacy breeding plumes.Straw-Necked IbisThreskiornis spinicollisAn Australian ibis with straw-like neck feathers and a shiny back, nicknamed the "farmer's friend" for eating grasshoppers.Wattled CraneBugeranus carunculatusA tall African wetland crane with flaps of skin hanging from its chin that shrink when it's nervous and lengthen when it's excited.White StorkCiconia ciconiaA big white-and-black bird with a red bill that breeds in Europe, winters in Africa and inspired the story of storks delivering babies.White-Naped CraneGrus vipio (also called Antigone vipio)A tall gray-and-white crane of East Asian wetlands with a red face and pink legs, famous for its dancing.Yellow-Billed StorkMycteria ibisA tall white African stork with a bright yellow bill and red face that feels for fish and frogs in shallow water.