Pink bird has Georgians calling about an out-of-place flamingo. But it’s something else
Large, pink visitors are being spotted on the coast of Georgia, but the vibrant birds aren’t flamingos, experts say.
“No, we don’t have flamingos in Georgia,” the state’s Department of Natural Resources wrote on Facebook. “But we can see why you called it in!”
The birds are actually roseate spoonbills, which are a little smaller than flamingos but still have the same bright pink coloration.
“I recently left Jekyll Island and saw what I thought were some lost flamingos in the marsh …… now I know!” one person commented.
Roseate spoonbills weren’t always seen frequently in Georgia, according to Jekyll Island State Park.
“They’re normally farther south,” Tim Keyes, a biologist with the Department of Natural Resources, told Jekyll Island. “As Florida wetlands dwindled, they started showing up on the Georgia coast in the 1980s. Some that were banded (for research) in Tampa have turned up here.”
Now, people share photos of the colorful birds across social media, enjoying their unique coloring.
“The Roseate Spoonbill is my favorite bird of all times,” One photographer wrote on Facebook, posting photos from Brunswick. “I come to this area just to see these pink beauties.”
The birds are usually found in marshes and wetlands along the coast, according to the Georgia DNR. They’re pink for the same reason flamingos are - their diet.
“Roseate spoonbills dine on aquatic invertebrates, crustaceans, fish, and whatever else they can scoop into their spoon-shaped bill from the shallow waters they forage,” the Georgia DNR wrote on Facebook. “Their diet is rich in carotenoids, a soluble pigment that is stored in their skin and feathers, so the more they eat, the pinker they get!”
