Species Details [Taxonomy: HBW - BirdLife (v3)]
LC
African Spoonbill*
Id (Atlas):
Platalea alba
Description (10 )
African Spoonbill
© bighugelabs.com
Family
Threskiornithidae (Ibises, Spoonbills)
Size
90 cm
First Described (Guide )
Scopoli, 1786
Habitat
Large, shallow inland waters, including lakes and rivers, seasonal and permanent pans, marshes, flood plains, sewage works, reservoirs and artificial ponds. Less often occurring at coastal lagoons, salt-pans, creeks and estuaries.
Angola, Botswana (B), Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], Côte dIvoire, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea (B), Guinea-bissau (B), Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa (B), Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania [United Republic of] (B), Uganda, Zambia (B), Zimbabwe.
Vagrant to Ghana, Oman, Yemen.
Senegal to Ethiopia, south to Cape Province; Madagascar.
 
Population
Estimated population is 11,000 - 110,000 (2010).
Status LC
Drainage of wetlands and destruction of breeding colonies are the main threats.
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet .
Food
Carnivorous. Small fish and aquatic invertebrates, such as crayfish and water beetles.
Voice
Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (5)... )
Listen to XC640996
African Spoonbill (Platalea alba ) [XC640996 ]
by Tim Cockcroft from City of Matlosana (near Stilfontein), Southern DC, North West, South Africa (begging call)
Listen to XC344185
African Spoonbill (Platalea alba ) [XC344185 ]
by Derek Solomon from Lagunes de Palmarin, Fatick, Senegal (call)
Nest
Flat oval platform composed of sticks and reeds situated over water on partly submerged trees, in bushes or reeds, on the ground on rocky islets or on rocky ledges. In colonies.
Subspecies
Considered by some to form superspecies with Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia ), Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor ) and Royal Spoonbill (Platalea regia ).
No subspecies.
References
See References .
Files:
BirdLife International
For more information about the African Spoonbill see... BirdLife International Species Factsheet .
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