By comparing records of all the bird-watching associations in east Asia, it was discovered that there are only about 280 black-faced spoonbills left, making it even rarer than some species of birds defined as endangered by the Washington Conference Treaty, signed by more than 100 member nations.
如今東亞各國鳥會互通信息，比對紀錄，結果發現黑面琵鷺族群數，僅維持在兩百八十隻左右，比起由一百多個國家簽訂的「華盛頓公約」所公告的許多瀕臨絕種動物，數量還要稀少。