The bare skin of the adult's head has a greenish tinge with a darker black band around the base of the skull. The eyes and legs are red. The feathers of the neck, chest, and upper back are white. The upper wing coverts are red, the tail feathers are orange-pink, and the rest of the body and wing feathers are pale pink. The unique pale grey bill is long, flattened and spoonlike in appearance.
Immature birds are paler in color and have feathered heads.
Breeding in the United States is restricted to coastal Texas, southwestern Louisiana, and southern Florida. Their breeding range extends south from Florida through the Greater Antilles to Argentina and Chile. They inhabit marshes, swamps, ponds, and rivers within their range, feeding in both fresh and saltwater wetlands. Highly gregarious, Roseate Spoonbills breed and travel in flocks. Spoonbills consume a varied diet of small fish, amphibians, aquatic invertebrates, and some plant material.