Kotouku ngutupaka - Royal spoonbill - Platalea regia
Photographed at Lake Ellesmere, Canterbury, New Zealand.
Kotuku-ngutupapa, the royal spoonbill Platalea regia
Once a rare occasional visitor from Australia, Royal Spoonbills have now naturally self introduced and are breeding in various places throughout New Zealand. The spoonbill feeds on insects, shellfish, small fish and frogs. They are readily identified in the distance by the way they feed, walking and sweeping their spoon bill in an arc. They were known to the Maori as kotuku ngutu papa, the broad billed kotuku (white heron), so must have been visitors to New Zealand before European recordings.
Also known as the Black-billed Spoonbill, this striking bird occurs in intertidal flats and shallows of fresh and saltwater wetlands in Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. It has also been recorded as a vagrant in New Caledonia. It lives in wetlands and feeds on crustaceans, fish and small insects. It always flies with its head extended. When they are breeding, long white plumes grow from the back of their heads and red coloured patches appear on the face. A yellowish cream tinge also develops on the breast. Adults have a distinct yellow eye patch and a dark, wrinkly bill. Juveniles lack the eye patch and a smooth bill. The nest is an open platform of sticks in a tree in which the female lays two or three eggs. The chicks hatch after 21 days. The birds are highly sensitive to disturbance in the breeding season.
Kotouku ngutupaka - Royal spoonbill - Platalea regia
Photographed at Lake Ellesmere, Canterbury, New Zealand.
Kotuku-ngutupapa, the royal spoonbill Platalea regia
Once a rare occasional visitor from Australia, Royal Spoonbills have now naturally self introduced and are breeding in various places throughout New Zealand. The spoonbill feeds on insects, shellfish, small fish and frogs. They are readily identified in the distance by the way they feed, walking and sweeping their spoon bill in an arc. They were known to the Maori as kotuku ngutu papa, the broad billed kotuku (white heron), so must have been visitors to New Zealand before European recordings.
Also known as the Black-billed Spoonbill, this striking bird occurs in intertidal flats and shallows of fresh and saltwater wetlands in Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. It has also been recorded as a vagrant in New Caledonia. It lives in wetlands and feeds on crustaceans, fish and small insects. It always flies with its head extended. When they are breeding, long white plumes grow from the back of their heads and red coloured patches appear on the face. A yellowish cream tinge also develops on the breast. Adults have a distinct yellow eye patch and a dark, wrinkly bill. Juveniles lack the eye patch and a smooth bill. The nest is an open platform of sticks in a tree in which the female lays two or three eggs. The chicks hatch after 21 days. The birds are highly sensitive to disturbance in the breeding season.