Yellow-billed spoonbill
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The yellow-billed spoonbill (''Platalea flavipes'') is a gregarious
wading bird 245px, A flock of Dunlins and Red knots">Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflat ...
of the
ibis The ibises () (collective plural ibis; classical plurals ibides and ibes) are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae, that inhabit wetlands, forests and plains. "Ibis" derives from the Latin and Ancient Greek word f ...
and
spoonbill Spoonbills are a genus, ''Platalea'', of large, long-legged wading birds. The spoonbills have a global distribution, being found on every continent except Antarctica. The genus name ''Platalea'' derives from Ancient Greek and means "broad", refe ...
family,
Threskiornithidae The family Threskiornithidae includes 36 species of large wading birds. The family has been traditionally classified into two subfamilies, the ibises and the spoonbills; however recent genetic studies have cast doubt on this arrangement, and hav ...
. It is native to
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, and is a vagrant to
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
,
Lord Howe Island Lord Howe Island (; formerly Lord Howe's Island) is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, part of the Australian state of New South Wales. It lies directly east of mainland P ...
and
Norfolk Island Norfolk Island (, ; Norfuk: ''Norf'k Ailen'') is an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head and about from Lord Howe Island. Together with ...
.


Taxonomy

The renowned ornithologist
John Gould John Gould (; 14 September 1804 – 3 February 1881) was an English ornithologist. He published a number of monographs on birds, illustrated by plates produced by his wife, Elizabeth Gould, and several other artists, including Edward Lear, ...
first described the yellow-billed spoonbill, naming it ''Platalea flavipes'' although noting its distinctness from other members of the genus. Bonaparte erected the genus ''Platibis'' in 1856, and Gould followed this classification in his later work. He noted the species appeared in great numbers across New South Wales in 1839, particularly in the north between the
Hunter Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...
and lower
Namoi River The Namoi River, a major perennial river that is part of the Barwon catchment of the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the Northern Tablelands and North West Slopes districts of New South Wales, Australia. The Namoi River rises on the west ...
s. The year had been wet, in contrast to droughts in previous years. A 2010 study of
mitochondrial DNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial D ...
of the spoonbills by Chesser and colleagues found that the yellow-billed and
roseate spoonbill The roseate spoonbill (''Platalea ajaja'') is a gregarious wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family, Threskiornithidae. It is a resident breeder in both South and North America. Taxonomy The roseate spoonbill is sometimes placed in its own ...
s were each other's closest relative, and the two were descended from an early offshoot from the ancestors of the other four spoonbill species. They felt the genetic evidence meant it was equally valid to consider all six to be classified within the genus ''
Platalea Spoonbills are a genus, ''Platalea'', of large, long-legged wading birds. The spoonbills have a global distribution, being found on every continent except Antarctica. The genus name ''Platalea'' derives from Ancient Greek and means "broad", refe ...
'' or alternatively the two placed in the monotypic genera ''Platibis'' and ''Ajaia'' respectively. However, as the six species were so similar morphologically, keeping them within the one genus made more sense.


Description

Measuring around , the yellow-billed spoonbill has all white plumage. The long spoon-shaped bill, bare-skinned face, legs and feet are all yellow, while the iris is pale yellow. The sexes are similar in plumage and coloration. In the breeding season, the face is lined with black, long hackles develop on the chest, and the wings have black tips. The bill of the yellow-billed spoonbill is narrower and works more like a
forceps Forceps (plural forceps or considered a plural noun without a singular, often a pair of forceps; the Latin plural ''forcipes'' is no longer recorded in most dictionaries) are a handheld, hinged instrument used for grasping and holding objects. Fo ...
than the larger-ended and more spoon-like bill of the
royal spoonbill The royal spoonbill (''Platalea regia'') also known as the black-billed spoonbill, occurs in intertidal flats and shallows of fresh and saltwater wetlands in Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. (In New Z ...
, which acts like a pair of
tongs Tongs are a type of tool used to grip and lift objects instead of holding them directly with hands. There are many forms of tongs adapted to their specific use. The first pair of tongs belongs to the Egyptians. Tongs likely started off as b ...
. Like all members of the ibis and spoonbill family, it always flies with its head extended.


Distribution and habitat

The yellow-billed spoonbill is found across eastern, northern and southwestern Australia, particularly around water, and has been recorded as a vagrant to
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
,
Lord Howe Island Lord Howe Island (; formerly Lord Howe's Island) is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, part of the Australian state of New South Wales. It lies directly east of mainland P ...
and
Norfolk Island Norfolk Island (, ; Norfuk: ''Norf'k Ailen'') is an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head and about from Lord Howe Island. Together with ...
. It is not found in
Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...
. It nests in trees, marshes or reed-beds, and often roosts in trees. It occurs in shallows of wetlands, and occasionally on dry pasture.


Feeding

The yellow-billed spoonbill is carnivorous, catching small animals by sweeping its bill through shallow water and swallowing prey once it is detected. When slow sweeping, the spoonbill walks with the bill at an angle at about 60 degrees to horizontal and with the bill tip open about , sweeping an arc of around 120 degrees in front of the bird. The bird walks slowly, kicking up debris and small animals from the bottom of the water, which it then senses and catches with its bill. When an item is detected, the spoonbill switches to intensive sweeping of a small area. The yellow-billed spoonbill has a row of small blunt knobs known as ''papillae'' which line the margins of the upper and lower mandible of the "spoon". These are sensory structures which help the bird sense vibration and hence seize its prey. One field study at Lake Cowal in New South Wales found the water depth selected for feeding to be less than . As well as lakes and swamps, the birds feed in paddocks inundated after heavy rain. Foraging occurs both during the day and at night. Yellow-billed spoonbills also probe submerged plants directly for prey, and seize prey such as spiders above ground. They have been observed dragging their bills alongside themselves through shallow water while walking. Prey items recorded at Lake Cowal include freshwater crustaceans such as the
common yabby The common yabby (''Cherax destructor'') is an Australian freshwater crustacean in the Parastacidae family (biology), family. It is listed as a vulnerable species of crayfish by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), though ...
(''Cherax destructor''); shrimp of the genus ''
Macrobrachium ''Macrobrachium'' is a genus of freshwater prawns or shrimps characterised by the extreme enlargement of the second pair of pereiopods, at least in the male. Species It contains these species: *'' Macrobrachium acanthochirus'' F. Villalobo ...
'' and family
Atyidae Atyidae is a family of shrimp, present in all tropical and most temperate waters of the world. Adults of this family are almost always confined to fresh water. This is the only family in the superfamily Atyoidea. Genera and species The follow ...
; insects, particularly aquatic bugs of the families
Notonectidae Notonectidae is a cosmopolitan family of aquatic insects in the order Hemiptera, commonly called backswimmers because they swim "upside down" (inverted). They are all predators and typically range from in length. They are similar in appearance t ...
and
Corixidae Corixidae is a family of aquatic insects in the order Hemiptera. They are found worldwide in virtually any freshwater habitat and a few species live in saline water. There are about 500 known species worldwide, in 55 genera, including the genus ' ...
; fish such as mosquitofish (''
Gambusia affinis The western Mosquitofish (''Gambusia affinis'') is a North American freshwater fish, also known commonly, if ambiguously, as simply Mosquitofish or by its genus, generic name, ''Gambusia'', or by the common name gambezi. Its sister species, th ...
'') and flathead gudgeon (''
Philypnodon grandiceps The flathead gudgeon (''Philypnodon grandiceps'') is a species of fish in the family Eleotridae endemic to eastern Australia. Taxonomy Gerard Krefft described the flathead gudgeon in 1864 as ''Eleotris grandiceps'', recording it from the Upper ...
''); and occasionally freshwater snails and plant material such as medic burr (''
Medicago polymorpha ''Medicago polymorpha'' is a plant species of the genus ''Medicago''. It is native to the Mediterranean basin but is found throughout the world. It forms a symbiotic relationship with the bacterium ''Sinorhizobium medicae'', which is capable of n ...
'').


Breeding

The yellow-billed spoonbill nests once or twice a year, generally when water is plentiful. The breeding season varies: it is usually March to May after the wet season in the north of the country, and in winter–spring (August to October) in more temperate areas. The nest is a platform constructed of sticks; it has a hollowed centre, and can be located on the branches or fork of a tree, the base of which is often submerged in water. Reed beds are another nest location. The clutch consists of two to four dull white eggs measuring 68 x 45 mm. Nests are often located in colonies, with other species such as the royal spoonbill, Australian white ibis, straw-necked ibis, as well as herons, egrets or cormorants.


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q250051
yellow-billed spoonbill The yellow-billed spoonbill (''Platalea flavipes'') is a gregarious Wader, wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family, Threskiornithidae. It is native to Australia, and is a vagrant to New Zealand, Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island. Taxonomy ...
Endemic birds of Australia
yellow-billed spoonbill The yellow-billed spoonbill (''Platalea flavipes'') is a gregarious Wader, wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family, Threskiornithidae. It is native to Australia, and is a vagrant to New Zealand, Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island. Taxonomy ...
Articles containing video clips