European Bee-eater vs Roseate Spoonbill
Merops apiaster compared with Platalea ajaja
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | European Bee-eater | Roseate Spoonbill |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Merops apiaster | Platalea ajaja |
| Order | Coraciiformes | Pelecaniformes |
| Family | Meropidae | Threskiornithidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | 28.0 cm (11.0 in) | 81.0 cm (31.9 in) |
| Wingspan | 38.0 cm (15.0 in) | 127.0 cm (50.0 in) |
| Weight | 56.0 g (1.98 oz) | 1500.0 g (52.91 oz) |
| Diet | Primarily bees, wasps, and hornets caught in flight. Removes stingers by beating prey against a … | Small fish, crustaceans, aquatic insects, and plant material filtered from shallow water by sweeping the … |
| Clutch Size | 4-10 | 1-7 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Size Comparison
Habitat Comparison
Shared Habitats
European Bee-eater only
Roseate Spoonbill only
European Bee-eater
Open country with scattered trees, sandy banks, and river cliffs for nesting. Breeds in colonies in tunnels dug into earth banks.
Roseate Spoonbill
Shallow coastal lagoons, estuaries, mangroves, and freshwater marshes. Nests in colonies in trees and shrubs.
Song & Call Comparison
European Bee-eater
A liquid, melodic 'pruik-pruik' or rolling 'prruup-pruup' in flight. Flocks give a distinctive far-carrying bubbling call audible before birds are seen. Considered a pleasant sound.
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
European Bee-eater
Southern Europe, North Africa, and western Asia. Winters in tropical Africa. A long-distance migrant.
Roseate Spoonbill
Southeastern United States, Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, and South America to Argentina.
Conservation Status
European Bee-eater
Roseate Spoonbill
How to Tell Them Apart
European Bee-eater
Richly colored with a chestnut-brown crown and back, golden-yellow scapulars, turquoise-blue underparts, and a black eye stripe. Central tail feathers are elongated.
Long, slender, slightly decurved black bill
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
European Bee-eater
The European bee-eater is one of the most colorful birds in Europe, displaying a rainbow palette of chestnut, gold, and turquoise. True to their name, bee-eaters specialize in catching venomous insects, skillfully removing the stinger before consumption. They nest in colonies, excavating tunnel burrows up to two meters into sandy banks.
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.