Eurasian oystercatcher

Haematopus ostralegus

A black-and-white shorebird with a long orange-red bill, feeding on shellfish and worms across tidal flats.

Key facts

Eurasian oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) is a carnivore animal classified as Bird · Charadriiformes · Haematopodidae.
Primary habitats are coast · freshwater · grassland, with a range across Palearctic · Afrotropical.
Activity is diurnal, sociality is loose group, and conservation status is NT (Near Threatened).
A black-and-white shorebird with a long orange-red bill, feeding on shellfish and worms across tidal flats.
Uses rocky coasts, sandy beaches, mudflats, estuaries, saltmarsh, inland grassland, and river shingle.

Habitat range map

Native rangeOccasional / Transient

Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)

Uses rocky coasts, sandy beaches, mudflats, estuaries, saltmarsh, inland grassland, and river shingle.

Head and back are black, underparts white, bill long and orange-red, legs pink, and eye ring red.

Noisy flocks walk across mudflats, prying open shellfish or probing mud for hidden prey.

Bivalves, snails, worms, crustaceans, insects, and earthworms are eaten, with bill wear shaped by feeding method.

Shallow scrapes are made on coastal or inland bare ground. Precocial chicks walk under parental protection.

Tidal feeding areas, nesting disturbance, and shellfish changes affect populations, supporting its near-threatened status.