Black-faced Spoonbill

Wintering in Aogu Wetland, Taiwan The black-faced spoonbill (Platalea minor) is a species of wading bird in the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae, found in eastern Asia. This species has the most restricted distribution of the six spoonbill species, and is the only one regarded as endangered. Spoonbills are large water birds with dorso-ventrally flattened, spatulate bills; they use a tactile method of feeding, wading in the water and sweeping their beaks from side-to-side to detect prey. Confined to the coastal areas of eastern Asia, it seems that it was once common throughout its area of distribution. It currently breeds mostly on a few small rocky islands off the west coast of North Korea and South Korea, with four wintering sites at Macau, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Vietnam, as well as other places where they have been observed in migration. Wintering also occurs in Jeju, South Korea, Kyushu and Okinawa, Japan, and the Red River delta in Vietnam. More recently, sightings were noted in Thailand, the Philippines, and at additional sites in China.

Black-faced spoonbill was internationally classified as an endangered species by the IUCN in 2000. Nearly driven to global extinction in the 1980s, conservation efforts amongst various Asian countries in recent years has helped in bringing its population back onto a steadily increasing trend. The population in the 2012 census was recorded at 2,693 birds, with an estimation of 1,600 mature birds. Breeding colonies occur between March and August, on small islands. In the 2022 global census, the population was recorded at 6,162 individuals.