Platalea minor

Black-faced Spoonbill is a medium-sized wading bird with no subspecies.

The Black-faced Spoonbill looks very similar to the White Spoonbill, and they are often confused in the wild. It is slightly smaller than the white spoonbill, and its feathers are all snow-white. In summer, there is a long hair-like orange-yellow crest on the back of the head, and an orange-yellow collar under the neck and chest. The iris is dark red or blood red. The beak is all black, unlike the white spoonbill whose front end is yellow. The shape is also long, straight, flat and shaped like a spoonbill. The black legs are very long, and the lower part of the tibia is exposed, which is suitable for wading. It is obviously different from the white spoonbill whose black part is limited to the base of the beak. The exposed parts of its forehead, face, eye area, throat and other parts are also black, and are integrated with the black beak, so it is called "black-faced spoonbill".

In spring, the black-faced spoonbill arrives at the breeding grounds in March and April, and leaves the breeding grounds for the wintering grounds in October and November. In the Fujian part, it stays all year round and does not migrate.

Black-faced spoonbills often move alone or in small groups in the intertidal zone at the seaside, in the mangroves and in the shallow waters of the inland waters. They are calm and alert, and difficult to approach. They usually live in wetland environments such as inland lakes, ponds, estuaries, reed swamps, rice fields, coastal islands and coastal swamps. They like to live in groups, with each group ranging from three or four to more than ten, and more often they are mixed with wading birds such as great egrets, little egrets, herons, white spoonbills, and white ibises. They are relatively quiet in nature, often leisurely foraging in the intertidal zone at the seaside, mangroves, and the jiwei (i.e. shrimp pond) and mudflats where salt and fresh water meet. Around noon, they live on the earthen embankment of the shrimp pond or in the sparse mangroves. When flying, they are graceful and gentle, with their necks and legs straight, and their wings flapping slowly and rhythmically. And they are gentle, not very aggressive, and never actively attack other birds.

They mainly feed on small fish, shrimp, crab, insects, insect larvae, mollusks and crustaceans. They forage alone or in small groups. Foraging activities are mainly during the day, mostly in shallow water near the water. The method of foraging is usually to insert the long beak like a small shovel into the water, half open the mouth, wade forward in the shallow water while shaking the head left and right to sweep, and catch fish, shrimp, crab, mollusks, aquatic insects and aquatic plants and other creatures on the bottom of the water through touch. After catching them, they lift the long beak out of the water and swallow the food.

The breeding season of the black-faced spoonbill is from May to July, but it often comes to the breeding area in March and April. They nest on cliffs or small islands in the water. There are often 2-3 pairs nesting together. Black-faced spoonbills usually practice "monogamy" during reproduction, and the couple relationship is extremely stable. When the birds start to build nests, it means that their mate relationship has been established. The nesting period is about a week, and they mate while building nests. They nest on cliffs or small islands in the water, and often two or three pairs nest together on tall trees near the water. The nest is disc-shaped, mainly composed of dry branches and dry grass, and the size is 20-30 cm in diameter. The mating of black-faced spoonbills is very distinctive. Before mating, the male runs around the female constantly, and the male uses his mouth to caress the female's mouth and head constantly, and then he uses his neck to slap the female's neck left and right quickly. At this time, the female half squatted down, the male first stretched out his right leg to put on the female, then stepped on her with his left leg, the male bit the female's mouth tightly with his mouth, and began to flap his wings up and down, which lasted for about 10 seconds, and then flew directly from the female to the sky.

Each nest of black-faced spoonbills lays 4-6 eggs. The eggs are long oval, white, with light spots, and are 59 mm × 44 mm in size. The incubation period takes about 35 days. The newborn chicks are covered with down feathers, and their faces are not black except around the eyes. During the brooding period, the chicks are fed by the parents catching shellfish, small fish, shrimps and other foods. After one month, they can leave the nest for the first flight, move with the parents, practice hunting, etc. After the young birds grow up, they leave the breeding grounds with the parents in October-November and go to the wintering grounds.

The Black-faced Spoonbill was once common along the southeastern coast of China and can be seen year-round in Fujian as a resident bird, but its numbers are now very rare.

The January 2017 Black-faced Spoonbill census recorded a new high of 3,941 birds, so the total number of mature individuals is estimated to be about 2,250, as adults appear to make up about 57% of the total. It is inferred that the population historically numbered about 10,300 (Yeung et al., 2006), falling to a low of 288 in 1988. Regular monitoring through the International Black-faced Spoonbill Population Census suggests recovery. The 2003 census counted 1,069 individuals, the 2008 census counted 2,065 individuals, and the 2015 census counted 3,272 individuals (Yu et al. 2015), which is a steady increase from previous totals that may reflect real growth and is due to successful conservation efforts at many sites (Yu 2008, Chen et al. 2010). There is still some uncertainty as to whether the increase in the Black-faced Spoonbill species census represents increased survey work, birds moving from unknown wintering sites, or a true increase in the species, so the total species population is still declining based on continued habitat loss and degradation.

Listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN) 2017 ver3.1 - Endangered (EN).

Listed in China's "National Key Protected Wildlife List" (February 5, 2021) Level 1.

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Breeding range: Russia (East Asia), North Korea and South Korea.
Non-breeding range: Cambodia, China (Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan), Japan, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
Resident: China.
Uncertain seasonality: Brunei.
In China, it breeds in Zhuanghe City, Dalian City, Liaoning Province, China. It migrates to southern China in winter. It is seen in the Liaodong Peninsula of China during migration, and there are breeding records on the small islands on the east side of the Liaodong Peninsula. It has been recorded in eastern Inner Mongolia in spring. It migrates south to Jiangxi, Guizhou, Fujian, Guangdong, Hong Kong, Hainan Island and Taiwan in winter.
It inhabits inland lakes, ponds, estuaries, reed marshes, rice fields, coastal and island areas and seaside reed marshes.

The mouth is long, straight, black, flat up and down, and the tip expands into a spoon shape. The legs are long and black, with the lower shins exposed. The forehead, throat, face, eye area and eyes are all black, and blend into the black color of the mouth. The rest of the body is white. During breeding, there is a long and hair-like yellow crown feather on the back of the head and a yellow collar on the lower part of the front neck. The whole body is white, the base of the mouth, forehead, face, eyeliner, around the eyes, down to the throat are all bare and featherless, black. The mouth is long and straight, flattened up and down, with the tip expanded into a spoon shape, black, and integrated with the black color on the front of the head. During the breeding period, there is a long, hair-like golden crown feather on the back of the head, and a wide yellow collar on the lower part of the front neck and upper chest; during the non-breeding period, the crown feathers are shorter and no