A spoonbill is a wading bird with a remarkable bill shaped like a spoon, flat and wide at the end. These unusual birds use their spoon-shaped bills to sweep through shallow water, catching small fish, shrimp, and insects by touch rather than sight. As they walk slowly through marshes and wetlands, they swing their bills from side to side underwater, snapping them shut whenever they feel something edible.

Six species of spoonbills live on different continents around the world. The roseate spoonbill, found in the southern United States and Central America, has stunning pink feathers that make it look almost tropical. Other species are mostly white. Spoonbills often feed in groups, and watching several of them sweep their bills back and forth in unison can look like a synchronized dance.

The spoonbill's unusual bill shape is a perfect example of how evolution shapes animals to fit their environment. That odd-looking spoon is a specialized tool that lets spoonbills find food in murky water where seeing would be useless. Sometimes the strangest-looking adaptations turn out to be the cleverest solutions.