Abstract: Understanding the wintering habitat of waterbirds is important for their conservation. Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia) is a national gradeⅡ prorected wildlife species in China, few studies on distribution and protection of Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia) have been carried out recently in wintering grounds. The wintering habitat and suitable distribution habitat of Platalea leucorodia had been predicted by using MaxEnt model and ArcGIS software, with 13 environmental factors and 87 encountered sites recorded during the National Waterbird Simultaneous Survey of China in 2016. The results show that the total area for wintering habitat of Platalea leucorodia in China was estimated to be 106 621 km², including 22 197 km² of highly suitable, 30 185 km² of medium suitable, and 54 239 km² of low suitable habitats. Most of the habitats were concentrated in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, while few of these habitats were scattered in other regions. The distance to the water source, the precipitation of the driest quarter, the altitude, and the mean temperature of the driest quarter were the main factors affecting the wintering habitat selection of Platalea leucorodia. These four factors were found to contribute 85% of the impact on the habitat selection of the species. 245 nature reserves have been designated as the wintering habitats of the species which covering 27% of highly suitable habitats, 13% of medium suitable habitats and 8% of low suitable habitats. However there are still some conservation gaps that need a quality management perspective.

Key words: Platalea leucorodia, habitat, MaxEnt model, nature reserve, wintering habitat