A waterbird that sweeps its spoon-shaped bill from side to side in shallow water.
The body is white, while the bare face and bill are black. During breeding, the collar and crest acquire a golden-buff color.
The Black-faced Spoonbill’s bill is broad near the tip and remarkably flat from top to bottom. When Swennen and Yu examined its feeding structures, they found clusters of tiny pits in the bone near the tip. Their position resembled spaces thought to house touch receptors in the bills of sandpipers. The authors proposed that the spoonbill may also find food by touch. As the bill sweeps from side to side, it may act as a sensor that picks up clues from prey underwater.
The paper also describes the long leg bones as flattened from side to side, which the authors suggested could reduce resistance in water and help avoid disturbing nearby prey. Together, these traits fit a feeding method that sweeps through shallow water, locates prey by touch and moves across soft mud.
IUCN Red List · Vulnerable (VU) · Global, species-level assessment
The global IUCN Red List assessment classifies the Black-faced Spoonbill as Vulnerable (VU). Assessed on 18 June 2025, it estimated 3,000–5,100 mature individuals and recorded continuing decline of mature individuals. The profile treats the species as one subpopulation and reports breeding at 11 sites along the Yellow Sea. In the January 2024 synchronized census, 6,988 birds were counted across the wintering range, including 4,135 in Taiwan (59.2%). This winter count is a different measure from the Red List estimate of mature individuals. The assessment also records a recovery plan, systematic monitoring and conservation sites across the species’ range.