Editing Roseate spoonbill (section)

==Description==
The roseate spoonbill is {{convert|71|-|86|cm|in|abbr=on}} long, with a {{convert|120|–|133|cm|in|abbr=on}} wingspan and a body mass of {{convert|1.2|-|1.8|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Roseate_Spoonbill/lifehistory|title=Roseate Spoonbill Life History, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology|website=www.allaboutbirds.org}}</ref> The [[Tarsus (skeleton)|tarsus]] measures {{convert|9.7|-|12.4|cm|in|abbr=on}}, the [[Beak#Culmen|culmen]] measures {{convert|14.5|-|18|cm|in|abbr=on}} and the wing measures {{convert|32.3|-|37.5|cm|in|abbr=on}} and thus the legs, bill, neck and spatulate [[beak|bill]] all appear elongated.<ref>{{cite book|author=Hancock, Kushlan|author2=Kahl|name-list-style=amp|title=Storks, Ibises, and Spoonbills of the World| publisher=Academic Press |year=1992| isbn=978-0-12-322730-0}}</ref> Adults have a bare greenish head ("golden buff" when breeding<ref name=Howell1995>{{cite book|last1=Howell|first1=SNG|last2=Webb|first2=S|year=1995|title=A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America|publisher=Oxford University Press|pages=[https://archive.org/details/guidetobirdsofme0000howe/page/147 147–8]|isbn=978-0-19-854012-0|url=https://archive.org/details/guidetobirdsofme0000howe/page/147}}</ref>) and a white neck, back and breast (with a tuft of pink feathers in the center when breeding), and are otherwise a deep pink. The bill is grey. There is no significant [[sexual dimorphism]].

Like the [[American flamingo]], their pink color is diet-derived, consisting of the [[carotenoid]] pigment [[canthaxanthin]]. Another carotenoid, [[astaxanthin]], can also be found deposited in [[flight feather|flight]] and body feathers.<ref name=Brush1990>Brush, A. H. 1990. Metabolism of cartenoid pigments in birds. ''[[The FASEB Journal]]''. 4:2969-2977.<br />Fox, D. L. 1962. Carotenoids of the Roseate Spoonbill. ''Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology'' 6:305-310.<br />(Mentioned in the [http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/490/articles/appearance#14.1.1.9 Cornell Lab of Ornithology page]).</ref> The colors can range from pale pink to bright magenta, depending on age, whether breeding or not, and location.  Unlike [[heron]]s, spoonbills fly with their necks outstretched. They alternate groups of stiff, shallow wingbeats with glides.<ref name=S&H>{{Cite book|last1=Howell|first1=SNG|last2=Webb|first2=S|year=1995|title=A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America|publisher=Oxford University Press|pages=[https://archive.org/details/guidetobirdsofme0000howe/page/147 147–8]|isbn=978-0-19-854012-0|url=https://archive.org/details/guidetobirdsofme0000howe/page/147}}</ref>