Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor) — Endangered

Black-faced spoonbill (Platalea minor), a white wading bird with a spoon-shaped bill. — Black-faced spoonbill (Platalea minor).
Image: Charles Lam, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

At a glance

IUCN category: EN · Endangered
Animal group: Birds
Population trend: Increasing
FaunaHub record reviewed: 2026-06-16
Checked against IUCN: Sources disagree — IUCN's 2025 global assessment says VulnerableChecked 2026-10-09 against IUCN's Red List export published 2026-07-28 · assessment

Conservation overview

The black-faced spoonbill is a rare wading bird with a black face and a spoon-shaped bill. It is assessed as Endangered.

It sweeps its bill side to side through shallow water to catch prey.

Range & habitat

Coastal East Asia, breeding on islands off the Korean Peninsula and wintering farther south.

Major threats

Threats below are drawn from the authoritative sources listed on this page. For the current, complete assessment, see the IUCN Red List.

Loss of coastal wetlands and tidal flats
Pollution
Disturbance

Why it matters

A coastal specialist of East Asia's vanishing tidal flats, the black-faced spoonbill is a flagship for the threatened wetlands of the Yellow Sea region.

Gallery

A black-faced spoonbill feeding in shallow water. — Black-faced spoonbill (Platalea minor), Okinawa.
Image: spaceaero2, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Sources

Sources for Black-faced Spoonbill

IUCN Red List — look up Black-faced Spoonbill (authoritative status)
BirdLife International

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a spoonbill feed?

It sweeps its flattened, spoon-tipped bill from side to side through shallow water, snapping it shut when it touches small fish or invertebrates.

Why is the black-faced spoonbill Endangered?

Published assessments cite the loss of coastal wetlands and tidal flats, pollution, and disturbance, though coordinated protection has helped numbers rise. See the IUCN Red List.