Just by looking at this bird that is enjoying the water at the Tropical Forest in the Biodome de Montreal in Quebec, Canada, one can tell what a unique species this is. The Roseate Spoonbill is a wading bird and is easily recognizable with its height of approximately thirty-two inches and its wingspan that can reach lengths of fifty inches.
The Roseate Spoonbill has extremely long legs and a long neck with a bill that is grey in color, very long and spoon shaped. Their heads are a green hue with their necks changing into a white plumage and the remainder of its body being pink with bright red markings on its wings.
To feed, this bird will swing its long bill from side to side as it wades through the water in search of its favorite foods of fish and frogs. It is hard to tell the difference in sexes as they are very close to the same in their markings except when they are young.
Juveniles have white heads covered in feathers and their pink coloring is a fair bit paler. ... continue below the picture...
... In the wild or in captivity, the Roseate Spoonbill may be seen in small groups feeding together and possibly flying together in a small flock. When they feed together or by themselves, listen carefully as this unique bird can produce extremely strange noises when it eats.
The Roseate Spoonbill was near extinction during the 1800's due to hunters but by the 1900's they began to increase in numbers very slowly. They are still considered to be endangered, so your best chances of viewing this bird and getting a picture is while you are at the Biodome de Montreal in Quebec, Canada.
Roseate Spoonbill, Platalea ajaja, in the Tropical Forest at the Biodome, Biodome de Montreal, Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Technical Information:
I photographed this photo with the digital SLR camera model Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II, aperture of f/5.6, exposure time of 1/100 sec. on ISO 800, as always I used a original Canon Lens, the focus lenght for this picture was 210mm.