Diet
The American oystercatcher uses its long bill to pry open mussels, oysters, and other bivalves. They snap the adductor muscles of the bivalves with their long bill so the shell can't close up. The American oystercatcher also eats barnacles, starfish, crabs, and jellyfish. It forages in shallow water by sticking its bill in the mud and probing for food.
Life Cycle
The American oystercatcher breeds from April-July. The female oystercatcher lays two to four eggs in a shallow depression lined with pieces of shell in a sandy dune or a salt marsh island. Both the male and the female incubate the eggs for 24-27 days. Both parents care for the chicks. The chicks fledge when they are 30-35 days old, but their parents continue to care for them for another month. The American oystercatcher first breeds when it is three or four years old.
Behavior
American oystercatchers don't live in colonies, but they do gather in large groups before migrating.
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