AnimalTracks.wiki

What the sources say

Roseate SpoonbillPlatalea ajaja

Every figure, record and mechanism on the Roseate Spoonbill profile was written from a source, and this is the working table behind it: 43 claims checked word for word against these sources. The left column is what the page says. The right column is the source's own words, copied, not paraphrased; a ... marks a cut and[brackets] an insertion. Open any source and check it yourself.

Profile updated

Source
01

Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan

Ajaia ajaja (roseate spoonbill). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

The page saysaverages about 1 kg
The source saysAverage mass 1036.97 gNote: 1036.97 g rounded to about 1 kg
The page saysIts range runs from southern Georgia and Florida through Central America, the Caribbean and South America to Argentina
The source saysRoseate spoonbills occur from southern Georgia and Florida, south through Central American, the Caribbean, and South America to Argentina.Note: source's own text reads "Central American" (typo for Central America)

Source
02

Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

Roseate spoonbill. Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.

The page saysIts diet typically includes minnows, small crustaceans, insects and bits of plants, and it feeds in the early morning and evening hours.
The source saysthe roseate spoonbill's diet typically includes minnows, small crustaceans, insects and bits of plants. They feed in the early morning and evening hours
The page saysIt reaches a height of up to 80 cm, with a wingspan of up to 120 cm
The source saysReaching a height of up to 2.5 feet (80 centimeters), the roseate spoonbill's wingspan can stretch 1.5 times as wide, reaching up to 4 feet (120 centimeters).
The page saysIt can live an estimated 10 years in the wild and up to 15 years in human care.
The source saysThey can live up to 15 years in human care and an estimated 10 years in the wild.
The page saysA newly hatched chick has mostly pink skin under a sparse covering of white down.
The source saysA newly hatched chick has mostly pink skin with a sparse covering of white down.
The page saysYoung birds are duller in appearance and brighten as they mature.
The source saysWhen they are young, the birds are duller in appearance, brightening as they mature.
The page saysThe Florida population usually nests in red and black mangroves, while Texas and Louisiana birds often nest on the ground on offshore islands, in mixed colonies with gulls, terns and herons.
The source saysThe Florida population usually nests in red and black mangroves sometimes with wood storks, while the Texas and Louisiana populations often nest on the ground in offshore island mixed colonies with gulls, terns and herons.
The page saysThe female builds a deep, well-constructed nest of sticks from material brought by the male.
The source saysFemale spoonbills create deep, well-constructed nests out of sticks using materials brought to them by males.
The page saysboth parents share incubation, which lasts about 22 to 24 days
The source saysBoth parents share incubation duties, which last about 22 to 24 days.
The page saysBy six weeks old, a chick has developed wing feathers large enough for flight.
The source saysby six weeks, it will have developed wing feathers large enough for flight
The page saysUsually mangroves and marsh-like areas, feeding in both fresh and saltwater wetlands
The source saysRoseate spoonbills usually live in marsh-like areas and mangroves ... They feed in the early morning and evening hours in both fresh and saltwater wetlands.
The page saysTypically minnows, small crustaceans, insects and bits of plants
The source saysthe roseate spoonbill's diet typically includes minnows, small crustaceans, insects and bits of plants
The page saysIt is believed to come from their food: the pigments of the crustaceans a roseate spoonbill eats are thought to give it its bright coloring.
The source saysIt is believed the roseate spoonbill receives its bright coloring from the pigments of the crustaceans that it eats.
The page saysTheir breeding range extends south from Florida through the Greater Antilles to Argentina, Chile and Uruguay.
The source saysTheir breeding range extends south from Florida through the Greater Antilles to Argentina, Chile and Uruguay.
The page saysBetween 1850 and 1890 their numbers dropped dramatically as hunters killed them for their feathers, and by the 1930s just 30 to 40 breeding pairs were nesting on the keys of Florida Bay.
The source saysBetween 1850 and 1890, the number of roseate spoonbills dropped dramatically as hunters began killing the birds for their feathers ... By the 1930s, the population dropped to a low of 30 to 40 breeding pairs nesting in a few small colonies on the keys of Florida Bay.
The page saysThey began to rebound once they gained full legal protection from hunting.
The source saysThe species eventually began to rebound, especially in isolated areas, once they gained full legal protection from hunting.

Source
03

Neotropical Birds Online, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja), overview. Neotropical Birds Online, Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

The page saysThe pink wader that hunts by touch, swinging a slightly open spoon-shaped bill through the shallows and snapping it shut when it contacts prey.
The source saysthe Roseate Spoonbill frequents shallow aquatic habitats and feeds by tactolocation: While walking, it swings its head and the slightly open “spoon” of its bill in the water from side to side in a semicircular motion. The bill snaps shut when it contacts prey
The page saysLike all other spoonbills, it feeds by tactolocation.
The source saysLike all other spoonbills, the Roseate Spoonbill frequents shallow aquatic habitats and feeds by tactolocation
The page saysThe roseate spoonbill is also the only spoonbill whose head becomes completely unfeathered and colorful as the bird matures.
The source saysIt is also the only spoonbill whose head becomes completely unfeathered and colorful as the bird matures.
The page saysFeather hunters began decimating the U.S. population as early as the 1830s, when John James Audubon saw spoonbill wings sold as fans in St. Augustine, Florida.
The source saysHistorical records indicate that the U.S. population was more abundant before the plume-hunting era than today. It was decimated by feather hunters beginning as early as the 1830s, when John James Audubon saw Roseate wings being sold as fans in St. Augustine, Florida
The page saysBreeders persisted in only a few places in Florida and Louisiana into the 1940s, and the species was virtually wiped out in Texas until the 1920s.
The source saysBreeders persisted in only a few locations in Florida and Louisiana into the 1940s, and the species was virtually extirpated in Texas until the 1920s.
The page saysTactolocation: a slightly open bill, swung from side to side, that snaps shut when it contacts prey
The source saysfeeds by tactolocation: While walking, it swings its head and the slightly open “spoon” of its bill in the water from side to side in a semicircular motion. The bill snaps shut when it contacts prey
The page saysBy touch, a method called tactolocation. While walking, it swings its head and the slightly open spoon of its bill through the water from side to side, and the bill snaps shut when it contacts prey, mainly fish and aquatic invertebrates.
The source saysfeeds by tactolocation: While walking, it swings its head and the slightly open “spoon” of its bill in the water from side to side in a semicircular motion. The bill snaps shut when it contacts prey, mainly fish and aquatic invertebrates.

Source
04

The Online Guide to the Animals of Trinidad and Tobago, University of the West Indies

Ajaia ajaja (Roseate Spoonbill). The Online Guide to the Animals of Trinidad and Tobago, University of the West Indies.

The page saysWading with its head low and its bill partly submerged and open, a roseate spoonbill swings its head from side to side in a semicircular sweep.
The source saysAs it wades, it keeps its head low and its bill partially submerged and open. It swings its head from side to side in a semicircular sweep
The page saysThe bill snaps shut when prey is detected inside, helped by sensitive nerve endings that line it.
The source saysthen snaps its bill shut when prey is detected inside ... Detection is facilitated by sensitive nerve endings which line the bill
The page saysIt walks about continuously while feeding, not waiting for prey to approach as herons do.
The source saysWhile feeding they walk about continuously, not waiting for the prey to approach as done by herons
The page saysShrimp, which it eats, feed on algae that produce carotenoid pigments, and two of those pigments, canthaxanthin and astaxanthin, are believed to be responsible for the spoonbill's pink.
The source saysA. ajaja consume primarily carotenoid-rich foods such as a particular marine shrimp ... Carotenoids are a group of orange and red organic pigments ... Shrimp feed on algae which produce caroteniods and it is believed that two particular carotenoid molecules, namely canthaxanthin and astaxanthin, are responsible for the pink colour observed in A. ajaja
The page saysOn an adult, the bare skin varies from dull green to orange and black.
The source saysThe head of the adults has no feathers and the bare skin varies from dull-green, orange and black
The page saysA roseate spoonbill has no true vocal cords, though its windpipe is very long, with a coiled lower end shaped like a figure eight, similar to that of cranes.
The source saystheir windpipe is very long with a coiled lower end resembling a figure ‘8’, similar to that of cranes, they have no true vocal cords
The page saysIt produces a harsh quack, and a clattering sound by clapping its mandibles together.
The source saysThey produce a harsh ‘quack’ as well as a clattering sound from the clapping of their mandibles or upper and lower part of the bill, together
The page saysDuring courtship, dancing displays have been observed.
The source saysDuring courtship, visual communication displays of dancing have been observed
The page saysShort distances are covered on foot, but it travels mainly by flight, in flocks strung out in long diagonal lines, legs and neck outstretched, alternating stiff, shallow wingbeats with glides.
The source saysShort distances are covered via walking but they locomote mainly by flight in flocks of long diagonal lines where consecutive birds are just to one side of the preceding ... During flight, their legs and necks are outstretched ... they alternate between stiff, shallow wing-beats and glides
The page saysa bird that has been seen performing dancing displays in courtship
The source saysDuring courtship, visual communication displays of dancing have been observedNote: vibe.reason (#760)
The page sayskeeps its own percussion by clapping the two halves of its bill together into a clatter
The source saysa clattering sound from the clapping of their mandibles or upper and lower part of the billNote: vibe.reason (#760)

Source
05

Miño et al. 2011

Miño et al. (2011). Reconstructing genetic mating systems in the absence of parental information in colonially breeding waterbirds. BMC Evolutionary Biology.

The page saysA standard clutch is three eggs (range one to five)
The source saysStandard clutch size in this species is three eggs (range 1-5)
The page saysSome nest-mates are half-siblings or unrelated.
The source sayswe obtained genetic evidence for the presence of unrelated nestlings inside Wood Stork (11.3% of the analyzed pairs) and Roseate Spoonbill nests (6.1% of the analyzed pairs), and the presence of half-siblings in Roseate Spoonbill broods (1.4% of the analyzed pairs)
The page saysIn DNA tests of nestlings from wild Brazilian colonies
The source saysnestlings were sampled during the 2006, 2007 and 2008 breeding seasons in colonies located in the Amapa state (AP), Pantanal (PAN) region and Rio Grande do Sul state (RS), Brazil
The page says6.1% of the nestling pairs analyzed were unrelated birds sharing a nest, and 1.4% were half-siblings.
The source saysRoseate Spoonbill nests (6.1% of the analyzed pairs), and the presence of half-siblings in Roseate Spoonbill broods (1.4% of the analyzed pairs)
The page saysA DNA study of nestlings in wild Brazilian colonies found extra-pair paternity and eggs laid by other females in the nest were common, with a combined frequency of 7.5%
The source saysextra-pair paternity and conspecific brood parasitism were common in the latter two species, with a combined frequency of 7.5% and 11.3% in Roseate Spoonbill and Wood Stork, respectively
The page saysIt looks that way.
The source saysCBP can explain the presence of unrelated nestmates and EPP can account for half-siblings in a brood
The page says7.5% of the nestling pairs analyzed
The source saysRoseate Spoonbill nests (6.1% of the analyzed pairs), and the presence of half-siblings in Roseate Spoonbill broods (1.4% of the analyzed pairs)Note: 6.1% unrelated + 1.4% half-siblings = the 7.5% combined frequency, so the unit is analyzed nestling pairs

Source
06

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2025

Platalea ajaja. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2025: e.T22697574A281037780.

The page saysthe IUCN Red List rates it Least Concern
The source saysIUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC).

How the table was made: a writer drafted the profile from these sources and logged each claim with its quote, a reviewer with nothing but this table checked every sentence said no more than its quote, and a script confirmed each quote appears word for word in the source. The method is in the site'sAbout page.