Roseate Spoonbill

birds · pink · water hunters · unusual beaks

Spoon-shaped bill. The roseate spoonbill has a flat, wide bill that looks just like a cooking spoon. It swings this special beak side to side through shallow water to catch fish and other small creatures.

Pink from food. This bird isn't born pink. Its rosy color comes from eating food that contains a natural pigment called canthaxanthin, the same thing that makes flamingos pink. The more they eat these special foods, the brighter they become.

Americas resident. Roseate spoonbills live in both South and North America and stay there year-round. They like warm, shallow wetlands, marshes, and coastal areas where they can wade and hunt.

Social and sociable. These birds don't live alone. They gather in groups to nest, hunt, and roost together, working as a community to find food and raise their young.

Bird family connection. Roseate spoonbills are part of the ibis and spoonbill family, which means they're cousins to ibises and other wading birds that share similar hunting styles.