The Royal Spoonbill (Platalea regia) is one of the two species of Spoonbills found in Australia. This species has a black beak (and what a beak it is!), whereas the other species has a Yellow (or pale) bill. The second species is called the Yellow-billed Spoonbill, which is a very useful name!
This Royal Spoonbill was feeding at Werribee - and was moving very fast. It was moving backwards and forwards in the shallow water of a pool, and also moving its head from side to side. All in all there was a lot of motion!
In a couple of the shots you can see where the bird has left up its head, presumably after making contact with a food item. One of the shots shows the bird with a small fish.
There were at least 20 of these birds scattered around the edge of the pool, but this one was the most tolerant of my presence.
What a great bird!
As ever, to join in with WBW click on the link below. SM