Spooning

PHOTO: AFP

What's special about this bird?

The first thing you notice is the strange shape of its bill. It is shaped like a spoon. This bird -- a royal spoonbill -- gets its name from its bill.

But the shape of its bill isn't just to make it look special. It is very important to the way that spoonbill birds eat.

Spoonbills walk slowly through shallow water with their bills open in the water. When a small animal like a fish or a crab touches the inside of its bill, it quickly closes its mouth, catching a meal inside.

When baby spoonbills are born, their bills are straight. Until their bills become shaped like spoons, their parents have to feed them.

Do you know? A BLUSHING COUSIN Royal spoonbills aren't the only type of spoonbill bird. In all, there are six types of spoonbill birds living all over the world, some as close as China and Japan. The most colorful kind of spoonbill is called a roseate spoonbill, whose wing feathers are bright pink.

The words of the day bill 喙 (hui4)，鳥嘴 (niao3 zui3) shallow 淺的 (qian3 de5) If you can't swim very well, please stay where the water is shallow. 如果你的泳技不好，請待在水淺的地方。