African spoonbill
Amazing fact
An African spoonbill catches prey that touches the inside of its bill and swallows it whole.
多摩動物公園
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
An African spoonbill catches prey that touches the inside of its bill and swallows it whole.
THE REAL WORLD
The real African spoonbill
- Scientific name
- Platalea alba
- Japanese name
- アフリカヘラサギ
- Group
- Birds
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Pelecaniformes
- Family
- Threskiornithidae
- Genus
- Platalea
It lives in shallow waters such as lakes and marshes in Africa south of the Sahara and in Madagascar.
Its feathers are white and its featherless face is red. Its spoon-shaped bill ranges from greyish blue to a grape-purple color.
It eats small fish and water-dwelling animals without backbones. It nests in colonies in trees or reed beds.
How the African spoonbill lives
It searches for food in shallow water, alone or in small groups. It walks around with its bill slightly open in the water, sweeping it from side to side.
多摩動物公園Basic data
- Size
- Total length: 90–91 cm
- Weight
- about 1.8 kg
- Diet
- Small fish and aquatic invertebrates
- Range
- Africa south of the Sahara and Madagascar
Where the African spoonbill has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- アフリカヘラサギ
- 简体中文
- 非洲琵鹭
- 繁體中文
- 非洲琵鷺
- 한국어
- 아프리카저어새
- Español
- Espátula africana
- Français
- Spatule d'Afrique
- Deutsch
- Afrikanischer Löffler
- Português (Brasil)
- Colhereiro-africano
- Italiano
- Spatola africana
- العربية
- أبو ملعقة الأفريقي
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Ibis sendok Afrika
- Tiếng Việt
- Mỏ thìa châu Phi
- Русский
- Белая колпица
- Türkçe
- Ak kaşıkçı
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 多摩動物公園 — アフリカヘラサギChecked: 2026-11-03
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
Report a mistakeWhen you meet the African spoonbill, look for this
- Look for its red legs.
- Look for the short crest feathers on its head.
Animals do different things from day to day, so you may not always see this.
多摩動物公園EXHIBIT INFORMATION
Places that keep or show the African spoonbill
Zoos, aquariums and other places whose official websites say they keep or show this animal.
Kanto
Displays can change with the animals’ health and the seasons. Check each facility’s official website before you go.
RELATIVES
Others in Threskiornithidae
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