Platalea ajaja Linnaeus, 1758

Roseate Spoonbill

Synonym(s): Ajaia ajaja (Linnaeus, 1758)

Florida native

Florida Species of Special Concern

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This distinctive bird is a resident of Florida, breeding from the Keys north to Tampa Bay and dispersing along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts from July through October. Found in coastal flats, lagoons and marshes, rarely inland, and often nests in colonies with herons.
A large wader, nearly a meter in length with a wingspan of 1.3 m., roseate spoonbills have a mostly pink body, white on the back and neck, with a bare head. The spatulate bill of Platalea ajaja is swept back and forth through the water and mud feeling for aquatic invertebrates.

Platalea ajaja is a member of the Threskiornithidae - Ibises and Spoonbills family.

iNaturalist profile for this species

For more information on this species, visit the following link:
Cornell Lab of Ornithology All About Birds page for this species

Date record last modified: Sep 30, 2026