top of page

Birds of Zihuatanejo

CLASS AVES

-Animals (Kingdom Animalia)

-Chordates (Phylum Chordata)

-Vertebrates (Subphylum Vertebrata)

-Birds (Class Aves)

-Pelicans, Herons, Ibises, and Allies (Order Pelecaniformes)

-Ibises and Spoonbills (Family Threskiornithidae)

-Spoonbills (Genus Platalea)

-Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja)


A pink wading bird of the Ibis family with long, flat, spoon-shaped bill. Adults are mostly pink overall, with scarlet wing patches, orange tail, and bare pale-green head. Roseate Spoonbills get their pink coloration from the foods they eat. Crustaceans and other aquatic invertebrates contain pigments called carotenoids that help turn their feathers pink. Both male and female roseate spoonbills have the same bright pink plumage, though males are somewhat larger and have somewhat longer bills.

Roseate Spoonbill

Platalea ajaja

Diet

  • Primarily small fish, shrimp, crabs, crayfish, aquatic insects, molluscs, and other aquatic invertebrates.

  • Occasionally feeds on frogs and other small aquatic vertebrates.

  • Forages by sweeping its distinctive spoon-shaped bill from side to side through shallow water, snapping it shut when prey is detected by touch.

Range

  • Found from the southeastern United States through Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and much of South America to Argentina.

  • Widespread along both the Pacific and Gulf coasts of Mexico, including the Zihuatanejo region, where it is a common year-round resident in suitable wetlands.

  • Inhabits mangroves, estuaries, coastal lagoons, marshes, mudflats, flooded fields, and shallow freshwater or brackish wetlands.

  • Often nests colonially with herons, egrets, ibises, and Wood Storks.

Male / Female

  • Male: Bright pink body with deeper carmine-red shoulders, white neck, partially featherless greenish-yellow head, long gray spoon-shaped bill, and red eyes. Slightly larger with a longer bill.

  • Female: Nearly identical in plumage but generally smaller with a shorter bill.

  • Juveniles: Much paler pink with feathered heads and less vibrant colouring.

  • Sexes cannot be reliably distinguished in the field except by subtle size and bill length differences.

Size

  • Length: 71–86 cm (28–34 in)

  • Wingspan: 120–133 cm (47–52 in)

  • Weight: 1.2–1.8 kg (2.6–4.0 lb)

bottom of page