Mask-luitsnokkiibis, Platalea regia, Kotuku-ngutupapa

Mask-luitsnokkiibist leidub Australaasias ning tegemist on tüüpilise kahlajaga. Linnu toiduotsinguid võib võrrelda aardeotsijaga, kes käib rahulikult mööda põldu, vibutades enda ees metalliotsijat. See iibis ei jaluta küll põllul, vaid madalas vees, kuid täpselt samamoodi astub ta rahulikul sammul, noka ots vee all muda sees, viibutades seda pidevalt vasakult paremale. Kui sellise tegevuse tulemusel eraldub põhjamudast midagi söömisväärset, tunnetab lind selle oma nokaga ära ja siis juba väga kiireid liigutusi haarab ta toidu oma "labida" vahele.

You can find Royal Spoonbill in Australasia and it is your typical wader. You can compare its food searching technique with a treasure hunter that is combing the field with swaying the metal detector in front of oneself. Spoonbill does not stroll on the fields but in shallow water, but quite similarly it wades very slowly, tip of the bill under water in mud and swaying it from left to right, kicking up debris. When an item is sensed, the spoonbill switches to intensive sweeping and catches the pray with its "spade".

Lisaks selgelt laienevale nokaotsale, on linnul, nagu näha, ka vinge tutt peas. Fotod tehtud Waikanae jõe suudmealas, Uus-Meremaal. Linnu maoorikeelne nimi on Kotuku-ngutupapa.

Besides the clearly spoon-like bill, the bird has also, as can be seen from the photo, a rather fancy tuft. The photos were taken in Waikanae Estuary, New Zealand. The bird is called Kotuku-ngutupapa in maori.