The Royal Spoonbill, just like its name, has a spoon-shaped bill. According to Birds of Australia by Iaian Campbell, Sam Woods and NIck Leseberg, “the massive, spoon-shaped bill is hard to miss, even in flight.”
But how does it use this bill? According to Marcombe’s Field Guide to Australian Birds: “These birds stride through the shallows sweeping the slightly opened bill in broad arcs side to side. Any small creature—tiny fish, crustacean or insect—that touches the inside of the broad tip, triggers it to shut instantly.”
These spoonbills congregate on the edge of Lake Albert, which is just a few steps from where we live here in Wagga Wagga. They are entertaining to say the least. I like to go for walks in the evening along the lake and take a gander and these and other birds, when they are active after our sweltering summer days which are often high in the 30s or even 40s (degrees Celsius). In fact, we are now entering a stretch of several over 40 C days here in Wagga Wagga. Hotta Hotta!
