Platalea regia
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The royal spoonbill (Platalea regia), also known as the black-billed spoonbill lives in intertidal flats and shallows of fresh and saltwater wetlands in Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. (In New Zealand, it is also known by the Māori name kōtuku ngutupapa.) It has also been recorded as a vagrant in New Caledonia. It is one of 6 spoonbill species world wide. The royal spoonbill lives in wetlands and feeds on crustaceans, fish and small insects by sweeping its bill from side to side. It always flies with its head extended. Widespread throughout its large range, the royal spoonbill is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
The renowned ornithologist John Gould first described the royal spoonbill in 1838, naming it Platalea regia and noting its similarity to the Eurasian spoonbill (P. leucorodia). A 2010 study of mitochondrial DNA of the spoonbills by Chesser and colleagues found that the royal and black-faced spoonbills were each other's closest relatives.
The royal spoonbill is a large, white bird with a black, spoon-shaped bill. It is approximately 80 cm (31 in) tall, 74–81 cm... Wikipedia →
Begging call0:31
Australia · 2016
© nick talbot · XC349855 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Recording0:16
Australia · 2023
© deborod · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording0:19
New Zealand · 2024
© M Rutherford · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kakadu National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Daintree National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Abel Tasman National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 4 | Royal National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Wilsons Promontory National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 6 | Hattah-Kulkyne National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 7 | Litchfield National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 8 | Booderee National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 9 | Great Otway National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 10 | Rakiura National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 11 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 12 | Fiordland National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 13 | Lamington National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Healesville Sanctuary | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Taronga Zoo | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Singapore Zoo | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 4 | Cleland Wildlife Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Melbourne Zoo | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 6 | Perth Zoo | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 7 | Espace zoologique de Saint-Martin-la-Plaine | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 8 | Adelaide Zoo | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 9 | Gorge Wildlife Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 10 | Featherdale Sydney Wildlife Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 11 | Ipswich Nature Centre | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 12 | Caversham Wildlife Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 13 | Ranger Red’s Zoo & Conservation Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Royal Spoonbill sighting in Abel Tasman National Park on a given day, based on 75 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 44th most-seen of the 69 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May and July–August
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Royal Spoonbill in Abel Tasman National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June and November–January, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Royal Spoonbill sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 13
Of the 13 parks where we can rate Royal Spoonbill sightings, Abel Tasman National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Kakadu National Park (Australia, about 30%) and Daintree National Park (Australia, about 10%).
Same order: Pelecaniformes
The closest relatives of the Royal Spoonbill that you can see in Abel Tasman National Park (order Pelecaniformes, Pelicans, Herons, Ibises, and Allies) are White-faced Heron (about 40%), Ardea modesta (about 10%) and Pacific Reef Heron (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Royal Spoonbill is recorded against all the birds logged in Abel Tasman National Park (75 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
