Roseate Spoonbill Dribbling at Merritt Island NWR, Florida

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I photographed this Roseate Spoonbill at the Black Point Wildlife Drive section of Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge located immediately north of the NASA Space complex on Florida's Atlantic Coast.
The Roseate Spoonbill is a gregarious wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family. It is a resident breeder in both South and North America. It is sometimes placed in its own genus - Ajaja. A 2010 study of mitochondrial DNA of the spoonbills by Chesser and colleagues found that the roseate and yellow-billed spoonbills were each other's closest relatives, and the two were descended from an early offshoot from the ancestors of the other four spoonbill species. They felt the genetic evidence meant it was equally valid to consider all six to be classified within the genus Platalea or alternatively the two placed in the genera Platibis and Ajaja, respectively. However, as the six species were so similar morphologically, keeping them within the one genus made more sense. The Roseate Spoonbill is 28 to 34 inches (71–86cm) long, with a 47 to 52 inches (120–133cm) wingspan and a body mass of 2.6 to 4.0 pounds (1.2–1.8kg). Adults have a bare greenish head ("golden buff" when breeding) and a white neck, back and breast (with a tuft of pink feathers in the center when breeding), and are otherwise a deep pink. The bill is grey. There is no significant sexual dimorphism. Like the American flamingo, their pink color is diet-derived, consisting of the carotenoid pigment canthaxanthin. Another carotenoid, astaxanthin, can also be found deposited in flight and body feathers. The colors can range from pale pink to bright magenta, depending on age, whether breeding or not, and location. Unlike herons, spoonbills fly with their necks outstretched. They alternate groups of stiff, shallow wingbeats with glides.
Info above was extracted from Wikipedia.

Taken in: United States / Florida / Dummit Grove (show map)

Taken on: March 9, 2023

Tags:

Roseate Spoonbill

Spoonbill, Roseate

Spoonbill

Platalea Ajaja

Ajaja

Wading Bird

Bird, Wading

Bird

Black Point Wildlife Drive

Black Point

Merritt Island NWR

Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

Merritt Island

National Wildlife Refuge

NWR

Florida

Paul Fernandez « less

Sets appears in: • Birds of Florida - Roseates

Camera: Nikon D850, f/20.0, 0.003 sec (1/400) sec (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D850
Aperture:	f/20.0
Exposure Time:	0.003 sec (1/400)
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Stats: 200 views / 1 comment

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