Eurasian Spoonbill

The Eurasian spoonbill is a wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family, native to Europe, Africa and Asia. It is partly migratory, with the more northerly breeding populations mostly moving south for the winter. The genus name is Latin for broad, referring to the distinctive shape of the bill. Three subspecies are recognised, and the nominate one is listed as breeding from Europe to north China, India and Sri Lanka (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is closest to the royal and black-faced spoonbills, and the royal spoonbill was once treated as a subspecies. Nationally Least Concern (Sri Lanka National Red List 2012).