Bird that says - I love Spoon feeding!

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With a total disregard to the social stigma attached with Spoon feeding, this bird merrily carries it's spoon every where and does not hesitate to use it!

"What's in a name?" said Shakespeare. Well, for this bird, it is all in the name. It is called Spoon Bill! No prizes for guessing why.

Where can Eurasian Spoonbills be found?

This interesting species is found in many regions of the world. Typically found near marshy and water logged areas. It loves low lying areas with a few inches of standing water and water reeds or other aquatic plants.

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Image credit

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As seen in the map above, this bird is found resident in regions ranging from coastal Africa to Central Asia. It migrates to warmer areas when it grows too cold and then goes back. It also migrates to mountainous regions of Kazakistan, Momgolia and Korea for breeding.

I have had the pleasure of watching and photographing these birds in Africa as well as India. The pictures in this particular blog were taken in India couple of days ago with my Nikon P900

What's with the Spoon anyway ...

Evolution has taken many strange forms - depending on the habitat, predators and prey. In birds, we see varying sizes and shapes of beaks as a result of evolution. This 'spoon' is one of the more spectacular ones. It is a tool with a purpose. It is not sharp like a heron's beak and useless for piercing or stabbing fish. What is is extremely useful for is locating and grabbing small insects and shrimp in the shallow water.

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Image credit: Created by me with images from this research paper by adding explanations

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As I have tried to illustrate above, the large spoon head of the bill is extremely sensitive to touch. The spoonbill sticks it's beak in the water, holds it open and moves it in arcs, by moving it's head from one side to another, as it moves forward. When the beak touches an insect or a small fish etc. it immediately snaps shut, trapping the prey.

So, next time you see this beautiful bird, don't look down upon it as a spoon feeder. Instead, admire it's spoon, which it has turned into a silver spoon by hard work!

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