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32” (81cm); 1.4kg. Distinctive spatulate bill; only large pink bird in our area. Adults: head bare, greenish; neck and body white to pale pink ; wings deep pink with rose red lesser coverts; tail buffy orange. Iris brick-red; bill greenish; legs reddish. Breeding: facial skin suffused with orange; bill, crown and gular pouch bluish-green. Immature: body pinkish-white; head covered with dull white down; wings pale pink, primaries dusky-tipped ; legs and feet blackish. Three years to full adult plumage. Habits
Gregarious, usually feeding in groups or flocks; frequents various freshwater or saltwater habitats, wherever shallow, open, still, or slowly-flowing water occurs; feeds by submerging bill or whole head, sweeping it from side to side while stirring up bottom mud with feet to flush small fishes, crustaceans , insects, etc…, and snapping bill shut on contact. Often several forage in compact group or phalanx.
Status
Locally common to abundant, at least seasonally, in Tempisque basin, Rio Frio district, and around Golfo de Nicoya; in smaller numbers elsewhere along Pacific coast; sporadic and rare over most of Caribbean slope and Valle Central. Pronounced seasonal movements reflect changes in water levels. Major (only?) breeding colony on Isla Pájaros, Rio Tempisque.
Range
Extreme S USA and NW Mexico to C Chile And Argentina; also Greater Antilles. |
