Eurasian Spoonbill

The Eurasian spoonbill, or common spoonbill, is a wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family, native to Europe, Africa and Asia. The breeding bird is all white except for dark legs, a black bill with a yellow tip and a yellow breast patch like a pelican's, and it has a crest in the breeding season. Non-breeders lack the crest and breast patch, and immature birds have a pale bill and black tips to the primaries (Wikipedia, general species account).

In Asia it breeds in a broad band across the central part of the continent from the Black Sea to the Korean Peninsula. It is partially migratory, with the more northerly breeding populations mostly migrating south for the winter. Most activity takes place in the morning and evening, and birds often roost communally up to 15km from the feeding areas. Even at breeding colonies the main sounds are bill snapping, occasional grunting and trumpeting (Wikipedia, general species account).