Royal Spoonbill
Platalea regia
- Family
- Ibises and Spoonbills (Threskiornithidae)
- Order
- Pelecaniformes
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.
Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Range and habitat
New Guinea, southwestern, northern, and eastern Australia including eastern Tasmania, Solomon Islands, and New Zealand (where self-introduced by 1860s).
Range description: AviList Global Avian Checklist.
Sources and further reading
- Wikipedia: Royal spoonbill
- eBird: sightings, maps and photos
- xeno-canto: sound recordings
- Birds of the World: full species account (subscription)
- BirdLife DataZone: status and threats
- IUCN Red List (threat status)
- AviList global checklist (taxonomy)
Last updated September 29, 2026.
