Spot-breasted Ibis vs Roseate Spoonbill
Bostrychia rara compared with Platalea ajaja
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Spot-breasted Ibis | Roseate Spoonbill |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Bostrychia rara | Platalea ajaja |
| Order | Pelecaniformes | Pelecaniformes |
| Family | Threskiornithidae | Threskiornithidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | — | 81.0 cm (31.9 in) |
| Wingspan | 52.2 cm (20.6 in) | 127.0 cm (50.0 in) |
| Weight | 866.0 g (30.55 oz) | 1500.0 g (52.91 oz) |
| Diet | -- | Small fish, crustaceans, aquatic insects, and plant material filtered from shallow water by sweeping the … |
| Clutch Size | 2 | 1-7 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Size Comparison
Habitat Comparison
Roseate Spoonbill
Shallow coastal lagoons, estuaries, mangroves, and freshwater marshes. Nests in colonies in trees and shrubs.
Song & Call Comparison
Spot-breasted Ibis
Roseate Spoonbill
Low, grunting and guttural croaking sounds at nesting colonies. Generally quiet. Alarm calls are softer croaks. Vocalizations lack melodic quality; purely functional colony sounds.
Geographic Range & Migration
Spot-breasted Ibis
Roseate Spoonbill
Southeastern United States, Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, and South America to Argentina.
Conservation Status
Spot-breasted Ibis
Roseate Spoonbill
How to Tell Them Apart
Spot-breasted Ibis
Roseate Spoonbill
Vivid pink body plumage with darker carmine on the wings. Bare greenish-grey head. White neck and back. Intensity of pink depends on diet.
Long, flat, spatulate greyish bill used for sweeping through shallow water
About These Birds
Spot-breasted Ibis
47–53 cm. Brown with white-spotted breast; bare red-orange facial skin. Resident in lowland rainforest of West and Central Africa from Sierra Leone to Uganda. Secretive forest ibis; feeds on invertebrates and small vertebrates on forest floor. Near Threatened; threatened by deforestation.
Roseate Spoonbill
The roseate spoonbill is the only spoonbill species in the Americas and one of the most striking wading birds in the Western Hemisphere. Like flamingos, their pink color comes from carotenoid pigments in their crustacean prey. Nearly hunted to extinction for their plumes in the 19th century, they have recovered substantially.