H2_W4_001

Date: January 2012

Location: Ranganthittu Bird Sanctuary, Karnataka

Did you know?

The Eurasian Spoonbill, or Common Spoonbill, is a wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family. They are mostly silent. Even at their breeding colonies, the main sounds are bill snapping, occasional deep grunting, and occasional trumpeting noises. This species is found widely in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Eurasian spoonbills prefer extensive, shallow wetlands with muddy clay or fine, sandy beds. They inhabit all types of marshes, rivers, lakes, or mangrove swamps.

About the picture

This image was conceptualised and planned by mapping out where I would position myself so that I could get a nice shot of the bird in backlit conditions in flight and also just about to land on a rock to drink water and bathe.

Fun Fact

The genus name, Platalea, is from Latin and means "broad", referring to the distinctive shape of the bill. Leucorodia is from Ancient Greek meaning "white heron’.