Habitat and Range Description Food Breeding Sounds More Images Recent Literature

Oystercatchers

Order: CharadriiformesAmerican Black Oystercatcher

Family: Haematopodidae

6 species

HABITAT AND RANGE:

worldwide ocean coasts;

DESCRIPTION:

40-45 cm; bill red, stout, long, laterally compressed; legs pink; plumage black or black-and-white; neck short; wings long, pointed; tail short; legs, feet stout; 3 toes slightly webbed;

FOOD:

feed mostly on molluscs;

BREEDING:

sexes similar; monogamous; 2-4 eggs in nest-scrape; biparental cares

SOUNDS:

MORE IMAGES:

RECENT LITERATURE:

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(Image taken from Hayman, P. J. Marchant, and Tony Prater. Shorebirds. Houghton Mifflin Company: Boston, 1986).