5

Yellow-billed Spoonbill (Platalea flavipes) Alternate name(s): "Yellow-legged Spoonbill" Size: 75-90 cm; wing span 1.25-1.35 m Body mass: 1.7-2.0 kg

Australia: Family Group 5 Family Group 5 Table Great Egret Plumed Egret Eastern Cattle Egret Little Egret Eastern Reef Egret Great-billed Heron White-faced Heron White-necked Heron Pied Heron Rufous Night Heron Little (formerly Striated) Heron Black Bittern Australian Little Bittern Australasian Bittern Royal Spoonbill Yellow-billed Spoonbill Australian White Ibis Straw-necked Ibis Glossy Ibis Black-necked Stork Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names Habitat pages Key plants Birds home page

Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Yellow-billed Spoonbills are medium-sized aquatic birds with an all-white plumage. Their most distinguishing feature is the spoon-shaped bill. Bill, legs and feet are yellow. During the breeding season they have white frontal hackles and black, filamentary plumes on the inner secondaries. The grey, black-edged facial mask is also more pronounced during the breeding season than in eclipse. The irises are pale-grey; the spatulate bill and the legs are greyish-orange. Feet and leg joints are grey.

Taxonomy, classification See Yellow-billed Spoonbill at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Yellow-billed Spoonbill is available HERE . Yellow-billed Spoonbills are endemic to Australia. They populate most of the Australian continent, including Tasmania, with the exception of the major deserts of the interior, i.e. the eastern half of WA, the western half of SA and the south-eastern corner of the NT. In other parts of the semi-arid interior they are present only when there is sufficient surface water, normally after major rainfall events. Yellow-billed Spoonbills are found only in freshwater habitats, in shallow water around freshwater lakes and in billabongs, but also in large, shallow irrigation dams. Where to look? How to find this species? If not perched in a (usually dead) tree near water, Yellow-billed Spoonbills are usually found sifting through shallow water along the edges of wetlands.

Sightings Click here for sighting information We see Yellow-billed Spoonbills regularly, but always in small numbers, in the area of Narrabri, NSW. There were several sightings in the Narrabri area after the significant rainfalls of May/June 2007 and January/February 2008, e.g. at Narrabri Lake. Seen also at Eulah Creek, 20 km East of Narrabri in July 2008. Spotted semi-regularly in inland NSW in the years since. C. Hayne reports that Yellow-billed Spoonbills breed regularly at Whittaker's Lagoon, 20 km West of Moree, NSW. J. Greaves reports spotting Yellow-billed Spoonbills at Lake Herdsman, Perth, WA, in August 2015. They are also found there semi-regularly by C. Pears. C. Pears also reports finding Yellow-billed Spoonbills semi-regularly in Quindalup, WA. J. Greaves also found Yellow-billed Spoonbills on Kangaroo Island, SA, in March 2016. R. Plumtree reports spotting a Yellow-billed Spoonbill at Clifton, Bairnsdale, East Gippsland, VIC, in August 2017. M. Eaton reports finding Yellow-billed Spoonbills in QLD semi-regularly. They were found, e.g., at the Cuttaburra Crossing, Eyre Developmental Road, near Bedourie, QLD, in June 2025.

Photos

ADULT

Sex unknown

BREEDING

Frontal view of a Yellow-billed Spoonbill in emerging breeding plumage gobbling up its prey (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Lake Herdsman, Perth, WA, August 2023]

Close-up near-frontal portrait of a Yellow-billed Spoonbill in late breeding plumage (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Lake Herdsman, Perth, WA, May 2024]

Near-frontal view of a Yellow-billed Spoonbill in emerging breeding plumage (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Lake Herdsman, Perth, WA, August 2023]

Close-up near-lateral view of a Yellow-billed Spoonbill in partial breeding plumage feeding in murky water
[Tiger Bay wetlands, Warren, NSW, April 2017]

Close-up lateral view of a Yellow-billed Spoonbill in late breeding plumage (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Lake Herdsman, Perth, WA, May 2024]

Close-up lateral view of a Yellow-billed Spoonbill in breeding plumage (note the spiny feathers and black tendrils) roosting in a dead tree in a swamp
[Yarrie Lake, near Wee Waa, NSW, August 2013]

Lateral view of a Yellow-billed Spoonbill in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Herdsman Lake, Perth, WA, July 2022]

Lateral view of a Yellow-billed Spoonbill in breeding plumage on a river bank
[Narrabri, NSW, February 2008]

Close-up lateral view of a Yellow-billed Spoonbill in partial breeding plumage
[Tiger Bay wetlands, Warren, NSW, April 2017]

Near-dorsal view of a Yellow-billed Spoonbill in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of C. Hayne)

Lateral view of a Yellow-billed Spoonbill that already had its breeding plumage in June 2011, in the middle of winter in inland NSW
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, June 2011]

Lateral view of Yellow-billed Spoonbills in worn breeding plumage at the end of the breeding season, resting in shallow water with their offspring
[Yarrie Lake, near Wee Waa, NSW, March 2018]

Dorsal/ventral view of a Yellow-billed Spoonbill in flight
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, October 2011]

Lateral view of a Yellow-billed Spoonbill just after take-off
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, June 2011]

Lateral view of a Yellow-billed Spoonbill in direct comparison with a Royal Spoonbill (photo courtesy of V. Collins)
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, July 2020]

NON-BREEDING

Near-dorsal view of a Yellow-billed Spoonbill moulting into breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Cuttaburra Crossing, Eyre Developmental Road, near Bedourie, QLD, June 2025]

Dorsal view of a Yellow-billed Spoonbill moulting into breeding plumage keeping an eye on the observer (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Cuttaburra Crossing, Eyre Developmental Road, near Bedourie, QLD, June 2025]

Full-frontal view of a resting Yellow-billed Spoonbill in non-breeding plumage
[Pilliga Wetlands Walk, NSW, July 2018]

Frontal view of Yellow-billed Spoonbills in non-breeding plumage
[Pilliga Wetlands Walk, NSW, February 2019]

Close-up near-frontal view of a Yellow-billed Spoonbill in non-breeding plumage looking sideways
[Pilliga Lagoon, NSW, February 2024]

Near-lateral view of a Yellow-billed Spoonbill in non-breeding plumage looking at the observer
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, June 2011]

Near-lateral view of a Yellow-billed Spoonbill in non-breeding plumage; note the unusual dark grooves on the bill
[Yarrie Lake, near Wee Waa, NSW, October 2023]

Close-up lateral view of a Yellow-billed Spoonbill in non-breeding plumage; note the dull colours of the facial mask and the scarcity of hackles and tendrils
[Yarrie Lake, near Wee Waa, NSW, August 2024]

Lateral view of a Yellow-billed Spoonbill in non-breeding plumage; note the dull colours of the facial mask and the scarcity of hackles and tendrils
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, June 2011]

Lateral view of a Yellow-billed Spoonbill in non-breeding plumage, right, resting together with a Royal Spoonbill in non-breeding plumage
[Pilliga, NSW, July 2019]

Dorsal view of a Yellow-billed Spoonbill in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Herdsman Lake, Perth, WA, August 2015]

Dorsal view of a Yellow-billed Spoonbill in non-breeding plumage, now with a friendly smile for the photographer
(photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Herdsman Lake, Perth, WA, August 2015]

Lateral view of three Yellow-billed Spoonbills roosting together with a Royal Spoonbill
[Yarrie Lake, near Wee Waa, NSW, May 2013]

Direct near-dorsal comparison between a Yellow-billed Spoonbill (front right) and a Royal Spoonbill, both in non-breeding plumage
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, August 2011]

Close-up lateral view of a Yellow-billed Spoonbill in non-breeding plumage in gliding flight
[Yarrie Lake, near Wee Waa, NSW, August 2024]

Lateral view of a Yellow-billed Spoonbill in non-breeding plumage in flight
[Goran Lake, near Gunnedah, NSW, September 2022]

Near-dorsal view of a Yellow-billed Spoonbill in non-breeding plumage gliding above water
[Near Bourke, NSW, September 2012]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Near-frontal view of a preening juvenile Yellow-billed Spoonbill; note the absence of a facial mask
(photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Clifton, Bairnsdale, East Gippsland, VIC, August 2017]

Near-lateral view of a juvenile Yellow-billed Spoonbill, right, and a Royal Spoonbill in non-breeding plumage
[Yarrie Lake, near Wee Waa, NSW, July 2017]

Near-lateral/lateral view of a pair of Yellow-billed Spoonbills with a juvenile bird on the right
[Yarrie Lake, near Wee Waa, NSW, January 2018]

Lateral view of a juvenile Yellow-billed Spoonbill (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Clifton, Bairnsdale, East Gippsland, VIC, August 2017]

Near-lateral/lateral view of a family of Yellow-billed Spoonbills with three dependants and a Royal Spoonbill on the right; note the absence of a facial mask in the young Yellow-billed Spoonbills
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, August 2011]

Adult Yellow-billed Spoonbill in breeding plumage with two juveniles
[Burren Junction, NSW, July 2021]

Breeding information

Breeding season: Aug - Nov

Eggs: 2 - 3

Incubation period: 20 - 25 days

Fledging age: ca. 30 - 40 days

Given the right conditions, Yellow-billed Spoonbills can breed any time of the year. The breeding season depends on geographic latitude. In the tropical north it peaks around March-May, whereas elsewhere it peaks around August-November.

Nest building: Male & female?

Incubation: Male & female

Dependent care: Male & female

Nest

"bungobittah", "lar", "malunna", "jindi" [bundjalung] = nest [Aboriginal]

Type: Basket

Material: Sticks, twigs, bark

Height above ground: 0 - 20 m

Yellow-billed Spoonbills nest in freshwater wetlands.

Yellow-billed Spoonbill on its nest at Whittaker's Lagoon near Moree, NSW (photo courtesy of C. Hayne)

Eggs

"boyanga", "booyanga", "derinya", "dirandil", "koomura", "mirk", "ngampu", "nooluk", "pateena", "pum-pum" = Egg; "dirundirri" = eggs [Aboriginal]; "gawu" = eggs [gamilaraay]

Size: 71 x 45 mm

Colour: Creamy white

Shape: Tapered oval

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Communal

Mobility: Sedentary/dispersive

Elementary unit: Pair/family/mob

When the water depth is right, Yellow-billed Spoonbills can often be seen sifting through shallows in small mobs
[Near Narrabri, NSW, December 2014]

These spoonbills were caught by us napping, with two Yellow-billed Spoonbills lying down for a rest during the day, rather than just standing on one leg, all with their bill tucked between the wings
[Yarrie Lake, near Wee Waa, NSW, August 2017]

Who needs a sandbank or a mudflat for roosting? When the last tourist is gone, a parking lot covered with red dirt will do
[Burren Junction Bore Bath, NSW, November 2017]

Food, Diet

Yellow-billed Spoonbills feed on small animals, such as crustacians, snails and insects, but also fish, caught in their bill while sifting through shallow water.

Close-up lateral view of a Yellow-billed Spoonbill sifting through shallow water with half-open bill (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Lake Herdsman, Perth, WA, June 2026]

There is a separate page with a sequence of photos demonstrating the feeding technique of a Yellow-billed Spoonbill.

This Yellow-billed Spoonbill was observed by us as it caught a yabbie (fresh water cray fish), brought it to the water's edge for rinsing...
[Eulah Creek, NSW, May 2017]

... before thrashing it, probably to remove the shears, and then devouring it
[Eulah Creek, NSW, May 2017]

Lateral view of a Yellow-billed Spoonbill feeding in a shallow lake
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, August 2011]

Close-up near-dorsal view of a Yellow-billed Spoonbill in late breeding plumage feeding in shallow water
(photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Lake Herdsman, Perth, WA, May 2024]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

We have not yet recorded a call of a Yellow-billed Spoonbill, but have recorded wing beats.

ybspoon_20180120.m4a

(NW NSW)

Departure (family of 4)

© MD

More Yellow-billed Spoonbill sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site? If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.