Beautiful African spoonbill is resting pose. A true work of art. The African spoonbill (Platalea alba) is a bird in the family Threskiornithidae. There are 6 known species of the genus Platalea. The bird is 90 to 91 cm long and weighs an average of 1790 grams. Like the other species of spoonbills, this is a slender, graceful, white bird with a flattened bill widened at the tip. Characteristic of the African species are the pinkish red legs and the bare red skin between the eye and bill. In this the species differs from the (common) spoonbill, which is about the same size. The African spoonbill is entirely white.