| Avocets | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Pied avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta) | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Charadriiformes |
| Family: | Recurvirostridae |
| Genus: | Recurvirostra Linnaeus,1758 |
| Type species | |
| Recurvirostra avosetta (pied avocet) Linnaeus, 1758 | |
| Species | |
| |
The four species ofavocets/ˈævəsɛt/ are a genus,Recurvirostra, ofwaders in the sameavian family as thestilts. The genus name comes fromLatinrecurvus, 'curved backwards' androstrum, 'bill'.[1] The common name is thought to derive from the Italian (Ferrarese) wordavosetta.Francis Willughby in 1678 noted it as the "Avosetta of the Italians".[2]
Avocets have long legs and long, thin, upcurved bills which they sweep from side to side when feeding in the brackish or salinewetlands they prefer. Theirplumage ispied, sometimes also with some red.
Members of this genus have webbed feet and readily swim. Their diet consists of aquaticinsects and other small creatures.
Avocets nest on the ground in loose colonies. Inestuarine settings, they may feed on exposedbay muds ormudflats. The nest is simply a lining of grass in a hollow in the ground. They lay three or four eggs of a dark greenish or brownish buff color, boldly marked with brown and black.[3]
Thepied avocet is the emblem of theRoyal Society for the Protection of Birds.
ThegenusRecurvirostra was introduced in 1758 by Swedish naturalistCarl Linnaeus in the10th edition of hisSystema Naturae to contain a single species, thepied avocet,Recurvirostra avosetta.[4] The genus name combines theLatinrecurvus meaning 'bent' or 'curved backwards' withrostrum meaning 'bill'.[5]
The genus contains four species.[6]
| Image | Name | Common name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) | Recurvirostra americana | American avocet | Central/Western United States, South Florida, Mexico, Saskatchewan, and Alberta |
 | Recurvirostra andina | Andean avocet | Argentina, western Bolivia, northern Chile, and southern Peru |
.jpg) | Recurvirostra avosetta | Pied avocet | Temperate Europe and Western and Central Asia |
 | Recurvirostra novaehollandiae | Red-necked avocet | Australia |
One fossil species,R. sanctaneboulae Mourer-Chauviré, 1978, dates from the late Eocene of France.
In a large colony, they are aggressively defensive and chase off any other species of birds that try to nest among or near them. That causes the annoyed remark "Avocet:Exocet" from some Britishbirdwatchers.[7]
They had beenextirpated in Britain for a long time because ofland reclamation of their habitat and persecution by skin andegg collectors, but during or soon afterWorld War II, they started breeding on reclaimed land nearthe Wash, which was returned tosalt marsh to make difficulties for any landingGerman invaders. Avocets useTitchfield Haven National Nature Reserve as a summer breeding ground.[8]
Media related toRecurvirostra at Wikimedia CommonsGenera ofshorebirds and their extinct allies | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
_svg-element.svg)
