---
title: "Koningslepelaar"
description: "Platalea regia — Vogels. The royal spoonbill (Platalea regia), also known as the black-billed spoonbill lives in intertidal flats and shallows of fresh and saltwater wetlands in Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/nl/animal/royal-spoonbill
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Koningslepelaar

> Platalea regia — Vogels. The royal spoonbill (Platalea regia), also known as the black-billed spoonbill lives in intertidal flats and shallows of fresh and saltwater wetlands in Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands.

- Scientific name: *Platalea regia*
- Category: `birds` (Vogels)
- Habitats: `freshwater` (Meren en rivieren)
- iNaturalist observations: 14166
- Wikidata: [Q722981](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q722981)
- iNaturalist taxon: [3733](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/3733)

## Names

- en: Royal Spoonbill
- de: Königslöffler
- es: Espátula Real
- fr: Spatule royale
- nl: Koningslepelaar
- pt: Colhereiro-real
- pl: Warzęcha królewska

## Countries with the most observations

AU (9832), NZ (3934), TL (13), NF (8), PG (6), ID (5)

## Summary

The royal spoonbill (Platalea regia), also known as the black-billed spoonbill lives in intertidal flats and shallows of fresh and saltwater wetlands in Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. (In New Zealand, it is also known by the Māori name kōtuku ngutupapa.)  It has also been recorded as a vagrant in New Caledonia. It is one of 6 spoonbill species world wide. The royal spoonbill lives in wetlands and feeds on crustaceans, fish and small insects by sweeping its bill from side to side. It always flies with its head extended. Widespread throughout its large range, the royal…

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

## Photo

![Koningslepelaar](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/royal-spoonbill/medium.jpg)

Photo: John Cull · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/243754598

## Machine access

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