Eurasian Spoonbill

Platalea leucorodia

Order: Ciconiiformes
Family: Threskiornithidae
Presence in the Strait: Seasonal
Abundance: scarce
Protection in Spain: Special protection (List)
In Spanish: Espátula común

Marine taxonomy: validated in WoRMS, AphiaID 416678

Photograph: Andreas Trepte, CC BY-SA 2.5, vía Wikimedia Commons

Length: 80–90 cm
Wingspan: 115–130 cm
Weight: 1,550 g

Presence in the Strait

Scarce summer visitor to wetlands. Breeding in areas near La Janda until the beginning of the 20th Century. From 1996 it has bred at Las Lomas (7 pairs). Some birds may winter in La Janda and the Marismas del Palmones.

Identification

Unmistakable. In winter adults lack yellow tones and nape feathers. They fly with fast wing beats interspersed with glides. Juveniles have black tips to their outer primary feathers and pinkish bills.

Movements

Migration peaks in 1st hf. April and 2nd hf. October.

Ring recoveries

Holland (9), Spain (1) and Morocco (1). ad.E ad.E Espátula Común Phoenicopteridae Flamenco Común

Bioestrecho editorial text. Last revised: 8 September 2026.

Photographs from iNaturalist observations with the licence checked file by file. Those marked “Strait” were taken within the area; place and date are those of each observation.

Calendar in the Strait

15 %

Peak in September. Observations under CC0 or CC BY licences. The distribution also reflects observation effort.

Where it is seen

Open records from the atlas database, in cells of about 3.6 km. Opacity follows the square root of the count, and also reflects where people observe most.

See on the map

First open record: 26 April 1975
Latest record: 5 March 2026

The oldest and the most recent open observation in the extended area. A recent first observation does not mean the species is new: it means nobody had published it openly before.

Conservation

The catalogues, Andalusian and Spanish, are what binds; the Red Book assesses the Spanish population with IUCN criteria, and the global Red List is the context.

LCNTVUENCR

Andalusian Catalogue: Special protection (List)
Spanish Catalogue: Special protection (List)
Red Book of the Birds of Spain 2021: VU · Vulnerable · breeding — LC · Least concern · wintering or migrating
Global Red List (IUCN): LC · Least concern

Annex I of the Birds Directive

Andalusian Catalogue: Junta de Andalucía, list of 24 April 2025. Spanish Catalogue: MITECO, table of 30 June 2025. Red Book: SEO/BirdLife, 2021 (Annex I). IUCN: via GBIF, 6 September 2026. Red Book and IUCN categories are assessments; catalogue categories are legal obligations.

Phenology compared

Monthly distribution in proportion, by decade. It shows whether the passage is getting earlier or later.

1990–1999

2000–2009

2010–2026

Proportions, not totals: observation effort grew faster than any population.

Where they come from

11 birds ringed in other countries and recovered in the area.

Netherlands9
Spain1
Morocco1

See the journey on the map

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Ciconiiformes
Family: Threskiornithidae
GBIF taxon key: 2480801

Sources

Distribution and calendar: Bioestrecho's own database, ingested from GBIF and OBIS
Photograph: Andreas Trepte, CC BY-SA 2.5, vía Wikimedia Commons
Taxonomy: GBIF backbone, pending WoRMS for marine taxa
Editorial text: written by Bioestrecho
Last revised: 8 September 2026

Eurasian Spoonbill

Presence in the Strait

Identification

Movements

Ring recoveries

Gallery