Hello and welcome.

This is the Science of Birds.

I am your host, Ivan Philipson.

The Science of Birds podcast is a lighthearted exploration of bird biology for lifelong learners.

This is episode 95.

It's all about the spoonbills.

There are six spoonbill species, all of which belong to the genus Plataalia, that's spelled P-L-A-T-A-L-E-A.

Have you seen one of these birds, in the wild, or maybe at the zoo? They're pretty crazy-looking.

I'll never forget the first time I saw Spoonbill. It was on the waterfront in the city of Cairns in Queensland,

Australia. The species was a royal spoonbill, and I was super jazzed to see one strutting around on a

mudflat with that long, weird beak. Spoonbills in general are fairly large water birds. They're members of the avian

family, Thresciornitity. Yes, that one is a bit of a mouthful, Thresciornitity. This is the family

of the spoonbills and the ibises. Today I'm going to focus on just the six spoonbill species.

We'll talk about ibises in another episode.

But someone might ask, why?

Why don't I just cover the entire family and get it over with?

Well, to that person, I would say, what's the rush, buddy? I mean, are you late for an

important meeting or something? Do you have some desperate need for me to cover the entire family

threschi or nithidi right now? How about we all just chill out, take a deep breath,

and learn about birds at a more relaxed pace.

Enjoy the journey.

But really, I just think spoonbills are distinct enough and interesting enough that they

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