Ibises and Spoonbills

Spoonbills and ibises are wading birds in the order ciconiiformes, or, by a more recent classification, in the order pelecaniformes. They belong to the family threskiornithidae.

Spoonbills
Spoonbills are large birds that belong to the order ciconiiformes, like storks and herons. They belong to the family threskiornithidae, like ibises.

They have long legs and neck, long, broad wings, short tail, and a long, spoon-shaped bill, which is used to filter the water to catch aquatic microorganisms. Most spoonbill species have white plumage, however,the roseate spoonbill has pink feathers.

Spoonbills live in Africa, Eurasia and America.

Ibises
Ibises are smaller than spoonbills. They all have long, down-curved bills, and usually feed as a group, probing mud for food items, usually crustaceans. They are monogamous and highly territorial while nesting and feeding. Most nest in trees, often with spoonbills or herons.

All extant species are volant, but two extinct genera were flightless, namely the kiwi-like Apteribis in the Hawaiian Islands, and the peculiar Xenicibis in Jamaica.