Eurasian spoonbil

    Platalea leucorodia

Castilian: Espátula

Catalan: Becplaner

Gallego: Cullereiro

Euskera: Mokozabala

CLASIFICACIÓN:

Orden: Ciconiiformes

Family: Threskiornithidae

Migratory status: Summer resident

CONSERVATION STATUS:

On the National List of Threatened Species, it appears in the “Of Special Interest” category. In the 2004 edition of the Red Book of Spanish Birds (Libro Rojo de las Aves de España) it is listed as “Vulnerable”.

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THREATS

The impact of humans and pollution from pesticides and heavy metals alter its reproduction.

Length / size: 80-93 cm / 120-135 cm

Identification: Large bird that is white and easily identifiable because of its “spatula”-shaped bill. During mating season it develops a crest in its nape feathers, a yellow spot on its breast, and the colour of the yellow spot on its bill becomes more intense. In flight its neck is outstretched.

Song: Practically silent except for the occasional slight murmur.

Diet: It feeds on small crustaceans, fish, amphibians, insects, and larvae that it catches while wading across the depths. It feeds in groups.

Reproduction: It lives in the same colony for years, in the company of other herons. It builds its nest above large trees or low marsh vegetation, with branches, reeds and scraps of other plant matter. The female and male work together to build the nest, incubate the eggs and care for the chicks.

HABITAT

It occupies wet, shallow and salty areas, and avoids stagnant areas.

DISTRIBUTION

In Spain: The bulk of the population is concentrated in western Andalusia, principally in the marshes of the Guadalquivir and the Odiel. It is also distributed in some points along the Cantabrian-Atlantic coast (inlets in Guernica and Arosa and marshes in Santoña).

In Castile and León: Its principal areas of distribution are Villafáfila (Zamora), La Nava lake (Palencia), the Ebro swamps and Rosarito (Ávila), and Azud de Riolobos (Salamanca).

Movements and migrations: In the wetlands of Senegal and Mauritania, the largest western European populations gather to winter there, whereas a small percentage of the Iberian population makes scattered movements near their breeding colonies; therefore, some specimens can be observed during winter. However, the eastern and central European populations go to Tunisia and the Sudan.

POPULATION

In Spain: There is an estimated population of 2500 breeding pairs.

In Castile and León: