Oystercatchers: Waders - bird family Haematopodida Oystercatcher Species Photo Gallery The oystercatchers are a group of waders; they form the family Haematopodidae, which has a single genus, Haematopus.They are found on coasts worldwide apart from the polar regions and some tropical regions of Africa and South East Asia. Lifestyle and adaptations. They usually eat shellfishes that are found on beaches and mud. In one, finding a mussel with its shell slightly open, the oystercatcher quickly jabs its bill into the opening, cutting the muscles and then cleaning out the contents. Where to watch >> View result on map >> You can’t mistake an oystercatcher. 2-3, sometimes 1. 1986, Marchant and Higgins 1993). The Eurasian Oystercatcher uses its sharp bill to open the shells of oysters and mussels. The Oystercatcher is a species of bird that lives around Europe and Asia.

In the other method, the bird simply hammers on the shell to break it open. Eggs. Criteria: A2bc+3b+4bc Click here for more information about the Red List categories and criteria Justification of Red List category This species is suspected to have undergone a population reduction over the past three generations that approaches the threshold for listing as Threatened. Pale buff to olive, spotted and scrawled with brown and black. Both sexes of this wading bird are similar, having predominantly black plumage with a white underbelly. They are distinctive and vocal birds. 2015, Hayman et al.

Oystercatcher.

Taxonomic note Haematopus ostralegus and H. finschi were previously lumped as H. ostralegus (del Hoyo and Collar 2014), but have once more been recognised as species following a review of additional material allowing the scoring of the taxa against each other and H. longirostris, H. chathamensis, and H. unicolor (G. Ehmke in litt. The American Oystercatcher is protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. It cuts the muscle between the two halves of the shell together, or it crashes the shell against a rock and eats the oyster inside. Incubation is by both parents, 24-29 days. The American Oystercatcher is a colorful bird and easy to spot along New England’s shorelines and marshes from March through September where they come to nest and raise their young. In flight you also see a white bar along the upper wing.