---
title: "Afrikaanse lepelaar"
description: "Platalea alba — Vogels. The African spoonbill (Platalea alba) is a long-legged wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/nl/animal/african-spoonbill
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Afrikaanse lepelaar

> Platalea alba — Vogels. The  African spoonbill  (Platalea alba) is a long-legged wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae.

- Scientific name: *Platalea alba*
- Category: `birds` (Vogels)
- Habitats: `freshwater` (Meren en rivieren)
- iNaturalist observations: 5226
- Wikidata: [Q512348](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q512348)
- iNaturalist taxon: [3734](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/3734)

## Names

- en: African Spoonbill
- de: Afrikanischer Löffler
- es: Espátula Africana
- fr: Spatule d'Afrique
- nl: Afrikaanse lepelaar
- pt: Colhereiro-africano
- pl: Warzęcha czerwonolica

## Countries with the most observations

ZA (2711), KE (682), BW (370), TZ (300), NA (176), ZM (95), GM (91), ZW (63), ET (60), SN (56), UG (53), MZ (29)

## Summary

The  African spoonbill  (Platalea alba) is a long-legged wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae. The species is widespread across Africa and Madagascar, including Botswana, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. The species belongs to the genus Platalea, which also includes species such as the Black-faced spoonbill, Eurasian spoonbill, and Roseate spoonbill.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_spoonbill

## Photo

![Afrikaanse lepelaar](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/african-spoonbill/medium.jpg)

Photo: johanj56 · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/344205397

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/african-spoonbill?lang=nl` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).