Eurasian Spoonbill

Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia) is a large white wader with long black legs and a distinctive flattened bill that widens into a rounded spoon-shaped tip. Body shape, bill structure, plumage pattern and voice provide the strongest field characters. Age, sex and season may alter its appearance, so identification should combine several features and careful direct field comparisons with similar species in the same habitat (Wikipedia, general species account).

It feeds by sweeping the bill rhythmically through shallow water for fish and invertebrates, and northern populations migrate south after breeding in wetland colonies. Its movements and social behaviour vary through the year, with breeding birds generally more dispersed and non-breeding birds gathering where food is concentrated. Japanese records place it within the country's documented avifauna as a resident, migrant or visitor (Wikipedia, general species account; Wildlife of Japan occurrence records).