Unlike Herons, this interesting bird flies with it neck outstretched and feeds by swinging its odd utensil-shaped bill back and forth in the water until it catches prey and swallows it. Not surprisingly, these birds were hunted in times gone by for their plumage to the point of joining the endangered species club. Fortunately, they have largely recovered in Florida. Over 1000 nesting pairs now reside in the state. The boy approaches the girl with a single twig which, if accepted, becomes the very first building block to their nest and home.
The distinctive pink colors of the Roseate Spoonbill vary with diet, becoming pinker with certain crustaceans and paler with others. The moral of the story is simple ... You are what you Eat!
The distinctive pink colors of the Roseate Spoonbill vary with diet, becoming pinker with certain crustaceans and paler with others. The moral of the story is simple ... You are what you Eat!
I call them roseated hootiewooters :-)
ReplyDeleteFor some reason we are seeing lots of them this year.