Platalea alba

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	AVES	Ciconiiformes	Threskiornithidae

Scientific Name:

Platalea alba

Species Authority:

Scopoli, 1786

Common Name/s:

English	–	African Spoonbill
French	–	Spatule D'Afrique

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Least Concern ver 3.1

Year Assessed:

2009

Assessor/s:

BirdLife International

Reviewer/s:

Bird, J., Butchart, S.(BirdLife International)

Justification:
This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be stable, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size may be moderately small to large, but it is not believed to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

History:

2008	–	Least Concern
2004	–	Least Concern
2000	–	Lower Risk/least concern
1994	–	Lower Risk/least concern
1988	–	Lower Risk/least concern

Geographic Range [top]

Countries:	Native: Angola; Botswana; Burkina Faso; Burundi; Cameroon; Central African Republic; Chad; Congo; Congo, The Democratic Republic of the; Côte d'Ivoire; Djibouti; Eritrea; Ethiopia; Gabon; Gambia; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Kenya; Lesotho; Liberia; Madagascar; Malawi; Mali; Mauritania; Mozambique; Namibia; Niger; Nigeria; Rwanda; Senegal; Sierra Leone; Somalia; South Africa; Sudan; Swaziland; Tanzania, United Republic of; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe Vagrant: Ghana; Oman; Yemen

Countries:

Native:

Angola; Botswana; Burkina Faso; Burundi; Cameroon; Central African Republic; Chad; Congo; Congo, The Democratic Republic of the; Côte d'Ivoire; Djibouti; Eritrea; Ethiopia; Gabon; Gambia; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Kenya; Lesotho; Liberia; Madagascar; Malawi; Mali; Mauritania; Mozambique; Namibia; Niger; Nigeria; Rwanda; Senegal; Sierra Leone; Somalia; South Africa; Sudan; Swaziland; Tanzania, United Republic of; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe

Vagrant:

Ghana; Oman; Yemen

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	Behaviour The migratory patterns of this species are poorly known^{1, 3}, although it is likely to make nomadic movements in response to local rainfall rather than truly seasonal movements³. The breeding season varies throughout the range, and is also variable from year to year, being suspended in sites when the rains do not occur³. The species breeds during the dry season from West Africa to eastern Sudan, in the rains (or sometimes in the dry season) in East and central Africa, and in winter or early spring in southern Africa^{1, 3}. It nests colonially with other species^{1, 4}, usually in groups of 5-20 pairs⁴, and occasionally in groups of up to 250 pairs or more¹. It remains gregarious outside of the breeding season, usually in small parties of 3-30 individuals^{2, 4}, roosting communally in trees or reedbeds⁴ and resting along the shores of inland shallow waters, sometimes in large numbers of up to 1000². Habitat The species inhabits large, shallow inland waters such as lakes and rivers, seasonal and permanent pans, marshes, flood plains, sewage works⁴, reservoirs and artificial ponds³, less often occurring at coastal lagoons, salt-pans, creeks and estuaries¹. Diet The species is carnivorous, its diet consisting of small fish and aquatic invertebrates¹ such as crayfish and water beetles³. Breeding site The nest is a flat oval platform of sticks and reeds situated over water on partly submerged trees, in bushes or reeds, on the ground on rocky islets^{1, 2} or on rocky ledges³. The species nests colonially in favoured nesting sites such as secluded lakes, river oxbows and islands of vegetation⁴.
Systems:	Terrestrial

Habitat and Ecology:

Behaviour The migratory patterns of this species are poorly known^{1, 3}, although it is likely to make nomadic movements in response to local rainfall rather than truly seasonal movements³. The breeding season varies throughout the range, and is also variable from year to year, being suspended in sites when the rains do not occur³. The species breeds during the dry season from West Africa to eastern Sudan, in the rains (or sometimes in the dry season) in East and central Africa, and in winter or early spring in southern Africa^{1, 3}. It nests colonially with other species^{1, 4}, usually in groups of 5-20 pairs⁴, and occasionally in groups of up to 250 pairs or more¹. It remains gregarious outside of the breeding season, usually in small parties of 3-30 individuals^{2, 4}, roosting communally in trees or reedbeds⁴ and resting along the shores of inland shallow waters, sometimes in large numbers of up to 1000². Habitat The species inhabits large, shallow inland waters such as lakes and rivers, seasonal and permanent pans, marshes, flood plains, sewage works⁴, reservoirs and artificial ponds³, less often occurring at coastal lagoons, salt-pans, creeks and estuaries¹. Diet The species is carnivorous, its diet consisting of small fish and aquatic invertebrates¹ such as crayfish and water beetles³. Breeding site The nest is a flat oval platform of sticks and reeds situated over water on partly submerged trees, in bushes or reeds, on the ground on rocky islets^{1, 2} or on rocky ledges³. The species nests colonially in favoured nesting sites such as secluded lakes, river oxbows and islands of vegetation⁴.

Systems:

Terrestrial

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	In Madagascar the species is seriously threatened by the destruction of breeding colonies at Lake Kinkony, Lake Bemamba, Lake Ihotry and Lake Alaotra¹. It is also threatened by the drainage of wetlands in some areas³.

Major Threat(s):

In Madagascar the species is seriously threatened by the destruction of breeding colonies at Lake Kinkony, Lake Bemamba, Lake Ihotry and Lake Alaotra¹. It is also threatened by the drainage of wetlands in some areas³.

Citation:	BirdLife International 2009. Platalea alba. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.1. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 21 September 2011.
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