Roseate Spoonbill Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesRoseate Spoonbill
Adult
Large, pink wading bird with a long, spoon-shaped bill. Adults have brighter pink shoulders and a bare yellowish green head.
© Peter Hawrylyshyn / Macaulay LibraryFlorida, March 07, 2015Juvenile
Juveniles look similar to adults, but are paler pink and have a completely feathered head. Spoon-shaped bill is distinctive.
© James Rieman / Macaulay LibraryTexas, July 25, 2017Adult
Roseate Spoonbills forage in shallow waters for aquatic invertebrates sweeping their head side to side with the bill partly opened.
© Benjamin Clock / Macaulay LibraryLouisiana, June 02, 2010Juvenile
Flies with its neck outstretched. Note pink underwings.
© Neil Rucker / Macaulay LibraryArizona, October 04, 2020Adult
Roseate Spoonbills roost and nest in colonies with other waterbirds in trees and shrubs at the edges of wetlands and estuaries.
© Larry Arbanas / Macaulay LibraryTexas, April 27, 2007Adult
In flight, note adult's bright pink underwing coverts.
© Brent Cox / Macaulay LibraryTexas, December 23, 2020Adult
Nests and roosts in trees and shrubs including mangrove, sea myrtle, hackberry, and mesquite.
© Darren Clark / Macaulay LibraryTexas, April 12, 2016Adult and juvenile
Roseate Spoonbills build bulky stick nests in trees and shrubs that often hang over standing water. They typically raise 3 to 4 chicks every year.
© Larry Arbanas / Macaulay LibraryTexas, April 27, 2007Juvenile
Juveniles are pale pink with a completely feathered head.
© Alyssa Suder / Macaulay LibraryNew Jersey, July 22, 2017Habitat
Found in freshwater and saltwater wetlands, mangroves, forested swamps, rivers, bays, estuaries, mudflats, and lagoons.
© David Hall / Macaulay LibraryFlorida, August 29, 2017Adult
Flies with its neck stretched out with powerful wingbeats.
© Larry Arbanas / Macaulay LibraryTexas, April 26, 2007Similar SpeciesAmerican Flamingo
Adult
American Flamingos are taller than Roseate Spoonbills with a longer S-shaped neck and a shorter bill.
© Doug Hommert / Macaulay LibraryFlorida, January 21, 2016Similar SpeciesAmerican Flamingo
Adult
In flight American Flamingos can be separated from Roseate Spoonbills by their black flight feathers and longer neck and legs.
© Gregory Peterson / Macaulay LibraryAruba, May 15, 2016Similar SpeciesAmerican Flamingo
Juvenile
Juvenile American Flamingos are whiter than juvenile Roseate Spoonbills with obvious black in the wing.
© Paulina Sabido / Macaulay LibraryQuintana Roo, October 07, 2016Compare with Similar Species
Click on an image to compare
Species in This Family
Ibises and Spoonbills(Order: Pelecaniformes, Family: Threskiornithidae)
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