Royal Spoonbill, Adelaide Zoo, South Australia

Royal Spoonbills are found throughout much of Australia where there is suitable habitat. They are absent from the drier inland areas and are rare in southern Western Australia. They are sometimes seen in the company of our other species of spoonbill, the Yellow-billed Spoonbill.

Their preferred habitat includes shallow waters, both coastal and inland, estuaries, edges of lakes, dams and wetlands, tidal mudflats and irrigated pastures.  Their nest is a shallow platform of sticks, often over water and often in association with other waterbirds such as cormorants.  During breeding the adults have a conspicuous plume of white feathers on the back of the head.

The photo above was taken in a walk through aviary at the Adelaide Zoo, South Australia.

Further reading:

• Royal Spoonbills
• Yellow-billed Spoonbills and the birth of a birder
• Yellow Billed Spoonbill
• About Me, Birds and Other Stuff