 The
American oystercatcher is about 17-21 inches long. It has long pink legs,
a long orange bill, black feathers on top and white feathers on its
underside. It has a large white stripe on its wings that is visible
when it is in flight. Its eyes are yellow with an orange ring around them.
The American oystercatcher breeds from
Massachusetts south to Argentina and Chile. It winters from North
Jersey south.
The American oystercatcher can be found
on rocky and sandy beaches, on mudflats, and on the edges of salt marshes. |
.... |
| Classification |
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Haematopodidae
Genus: Haematopus |
Oystercatchers use their long bills to
pry open mussels, oysters and other bivalves. They also eat barnacles,
starfish, crabs and jellyfish. They forage in shallow water by sticking
their bills in the mud and probing for food.
The female oystercatcher lays two to four
eggs in a shallow depression lined with pieces of shell.
Oystercatchers don't live in colonies,
but they do gather in large groups before migrating. |
