Black-faced spoonbill
Amazing fact
The black-faced spoonbill sweeps its bill from side to side underwater to find food.
多摩動物公園
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
The black-faced spoonbill sweeps its bill from side to side underwater to find food.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Black-faced spoonbill
- Scientific name
- Platalea minor
- Japanese name
- クロツラヘラサギ
- Group
- Birds
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Pelecaniformes
- Family
- Threskiornithidae
- Genus
- Platalea
Despite 'sagi' (heron) in its Japanese name, it is not a heron but a member of the ibis family. It also visits Japan in winter.
Its Japanese name comes from its bare black face and spoon-shaped bill. The surface of the bill has a wavy pattern.
Its feathers are white all over, but in the breeding season the breast turns yellowish and a crest grows long on the head.
How the Black-faced spoonbill lives
It eats fish and crustaceans in shallow water such as tidal flats. When prey touches the inside of its bill, it catches and swallows it whole. It breeds from spring to summer on uninhabited islands off the Korean Peninsula and elsewhere.
多摩動物公園ときわ動物園Basic data
- Size
- Total length: about 70–80 cm
- Weight
- 1.5–2.2 kg
- Diet
- Fish, crustaceans, horseshoe crabs, and other foods
- Range
- Northwestern Korea, northeastern China and Russia, southwestern Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, southern China, and Vietnam
- Conservation status in Japan
- Vulnerable (VU)Ministry of the Environment of Japan, 5th Red List (2026)
Where the Black-faced 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
- クロツラヘラサギ
- 简体中文
- 黑脸琵鹭
- 繁體中文
- 黑面琵鷺
- 한국어
- 저어새
- Español
- Espátula menor
- Français
- Petite spatule
- Deutsch
- Schwarzgesichtlöffler
- Português (Brasil)
- Colhereiro-de-cara-preta
- Italiano
- Spatola minore
- العربية
- أبو ملعقة صغير
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Ibis sendok berwajah hitam
- Tiếng Việt
- Cò thìa
- Русский
- Малая колпица
- Türkçe
- Küçük 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 — クロツラヘラサギChecked: 2026-11-03
- 平川動物公園 — クロツラヘラサギChecked: 2026-11-05
- ときわ動物園 — クロツラヘラサギChecked: 2026-11-05
- Ministry of the Environment of Japan, 5th Red List (2026)Checked: 2026-11-07
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.
The conservation status in Japan is the category in the Red Lists of the Ministry of the Environment of Japan, which assess the risk of extinction for wild animals in Japan.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
Report a mistakeWhen you meet the Black-faced spoonbill, look for this
- You might see a newly hatched chick’s yellow bill.
Animals do different things from day to day, so you may not always see this.
平川動物公園EXHIBIT INFORMATION
Places that keep or show the Black-faced spoonbill
Zoos, aquariums and other places whose official websites say they keep or show this animal.
Displays can change with the animals’ health and the seasons. Check each facility’s official website before you go.
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Others in Threskiornithidae
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