Eurasian spoonbill

Overview

Yala's coastal lagoons are full of wading birds, and the spoonbill is one of the most elegant.

The spoonbill feeds by touch, not sight. It wades through shallow water with its bill slightly open and sweeps it from side to side. When the sensitive tip touches a fish or shrimp, the bill snaps shut. Groups often feed together, moving across the lagoon in a loose line.

Adults in breeding plumage grow a shaggy crest and a yellowish-buff patch on the chest, which you can see in the photograph above. Outside the breeding season they're plain white with a black bill.

How to spot one.

1. Scan the shallow lagoons

   Spoonbills feed in water only ankle- to knee-deep. Look for white birds moving their heads from side to side.

2. Go when the lagoons are full

   After the rains, the lagoons and salt flats fill up and wetland birds gather in larger numbers.

3. Bring binoculars

   Lagoon birds are often some distance from the track. Our jeeps carry binoculars, and a long lens helps.

4. Look for mixed flocks

   Spoonbills often feed alongside painted storks, ibises and egrets, so one white flock can hold several species.

At a glance.

Active

By day, often feeding in groups

Feeding

Sweeps its bill side to side, by touch

Nest

Colonies in trees or reed beds

Breeding look

Shaggy crest and buff chest patch

Range

Lagoons and wetlands of the dry zone

Spot it by

All-white, long legs, spoon-shaped bill

The best months.

Lagoon birds are most numerous from about November to March, when the rains fill the wetlands and migrant birds arrive. In the driest months, fewer birds stay on the shrinking lagoons.

Three things to remember.

How we watch them.

• We stay on the track and don't drive toward feeding flocks.
• No flushing birds for flight photos.
• Voices low near the water's edge.
• We keep away from nesting colonies.