Royal Spoonbill

Also known as Black-billed Spoonbill, Platalea regia

species of bird

OverviewAI-generated

The Royal Spoonbill (*Platalea regia*) is a species of bird classified within the family Threskiornithidae and order Ciconiiformes. It belongs to the genus *Platalea* and is part of the class Aves and phylum Chordata. The species was described by Gould in 1838 and holds an accepted taxonomic status. Its IUCN conservation status is listed as Least Concern, a designation recorded in 2025.

This organism inhabits both marine and freshwater environments. It has a wingspan of 120 and a mass of 69. Reproductive characteristics include a litter size of 3 and an egg incubation period of 22. The species is also referred to by the common names Königslöffler, Espátula real, and llwybig brenhinol.

Synthesized by Vinony from 23 facts across 4 sources: Wikidata, WoRMS, IUCN Red List, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Species

Least Concern

Species

PhylumChordata
ClassAves
OrderCiconiiformes
FamilyThreskiornithidae

Habitatmarine, freshwater

Flugbild Königslöffler Königslöffler im Brutgefieder Der Königslöffler (Platalea regia) ist eine Vogelart aus der Familie der Ibisse und Löffler (Threskiornithidae). Die IUCN stuft den Königslöffler als nicht gefährdet (least Concern) ein.

via IUCN

~5 min read

Encyclopedic overview

The royal spoonbill (Platalea regia), also known as the black-billed spoonbill lives in intertidal flats and shallows of fresh and saltwater wetlands in Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. (In New Zealand, it is also known by the Māori name kōtuku ngutupapa.) It has also been recorded as a vagrant in New Caledonia. It is one of 6 spoonbill species world wide. The royal spoonbill lives in wetlands and feeds on crustaceans, fish and small insects by sweeping its bill from side to side. It always flies with its head extended. Widespread throughout its large range, the royal spoonbill is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Taxonomy

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Royal Spoonbill” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.