TheEurasian oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus), also known as thecommon pied oystercatcher, or (inEurope) justoystercatcher, is awader in the oystercatcher bird familyHaematopodidae. It has striking black and white plumage, a long straight orange-red bill, red eyes and relatively short dull pink legs. The sexes are similar in appearance but the bill of the female is longer than that of the male.
It is the most widespread of the oystercatchers, with four subspecies breeding in westernEurope, centralEurosiberia,Kamchatka,China, and the western coast ofKorea. No other oystercatcher occurs within this area.
The Eurasian oystercatcher was listed by Swedish naturalistCarl Linnaeus in 1758 in the10th edition of hisSystema Naturae under thebinomial nameHaemotopus ostralegus.[2] The genus nameHaematopus combines theAncient Greekhaimaαἷμα meaning "blood" andpousπούς meaning "foot". The specific epithetostralegus combines theLatinostrea meaning "oyster" andlegere meaning "to gather".[3]
The name "oyster catcher" was coined byMark Catesby in 1731 as acommon name for the North American speciesH. palliatus, described as eatingoysters.[4][5]William Yarrell in 1843 established this as the preferred term, replacing the older namesea pie.[6][5]
Disjunct from the other subspecies with a 2,500 km gap between its range andH. o. buturlini
The subspeciesH. o. osculans lacks white on the shafts of the outer 2–3 primaries and has no white on the outer webs of the outer five primaries;[8] it is probably better treated as a separate species,[9][10] but has not yet been formally recognised as such.[7]
The extinctCanary Islands oystercatcher (Haematopus meadewaldoi), usually considered as distinct species, may have actually been an isolated subspecies or distinct population of the Eurasian oystercatcher.[11][12]
The oystercatcher is one of the largestwaders in the region. It is 40–45 cm (16–18 in) long, thebill accounting for 8–9 cm (3–3+1⁄2 in), and has a wingspan of 80–85 cm (31–33 in).[13] It is an obvious and noisyplover-like bird, with black and whiteplumage, pink legs and a strong broad red bill used for smashing or prising openmolluscs such asmussels or for findingearthworms.[13] The sexes are similar in plumage but the female has a longer bill than the male.[14] The winter plumage differs slightly from the breeding plumage in having a white throat collar; this is only shown for a short time in adults, but for longer in immature birds.[13] Despite its name, oysters do not form a large part of its diet. The bird still lives up to its name, as few if any other wading birds are capable of opening oysters.
This oystercatcher is unmistakable in flight, with white patches on the wings and tail, otherwise black upperparts, and white underparts. Young birds are more brown, have a white neck collar and a duller bill. The call is a distinctive loud piping.
The bill shape varies; oystercatchers with broad bill tips open molluscs by prising them apart or hammering through the shell, whereas pointed-bill birds dig up worms. Much of this is due to the wear resulting from feeding on the prey. Individual birds specialise in one technique or the other which they learn from their parents.[13] It shows clinal variation in bill length with an increase from west to east. The subspeciesH. o. longipes has distinctly brownish upperparts and the nasal groove extends more than halfway along the bill. In the subspeciesH. o. ostralegus the nasal groove stops short of the half-way mark.
TheAmerican oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) differs from the Eurasian oystercatcher in having a yellow eye and blackish-brown rather than black dorsal plumage.[15]
The oystercatcher is amigratory species over most of its range. The European population breeds mainly in northern Europe, but in winter the birds can be found in northAfrica and southern parts of Europe. Although the species is present all year inIreland,Great Britain and the adjacent European coasts, there is still migratory movement; the large flocks that are found in the estuaries of south-west England in winter mainly breed in northern England orScotland. Similar movements are shown by the Asian populations. The birds are highly gregarious outside the breeding season. It is a rarevagrant as far south as southern Africa, where it can occur together with the all-blackAfrican oystercatcher.[16] It is commonly found in lowland plains (< 200 m a.s.l.) that are flat, have short vegetation, and are close to water.[17]
The mating system is monogamous and the pair-bond usually lasts for the many years. They first breed when they are between three and five years of age.[18] The nest is a bare scrape on pebbles, on the coast or on inland gravelly islands. Two to four eggs are laid. On average the eggs are 57 mm × 40 mm (2.2 in × 1.6 in) in size and weigh 47 g (1.7 oz). They are buffish-yellow in colour with black-brown blotches and streaks. Beginning after the last egg is laid, they are incubated by both parents and hatch synchronously after 24–27 days. The young areprecocial andnidifugous.[19] They are brooded by both parents and leave the nest after one or two days.[20] They are fed by both parents. Only one brood is raised in a season.[19] Both eggs and chicks are highlycryptic.
Similar to many other ground nesters, they defend the nest by attacking aerial predators (such as ravens) in the air, while they deal with ground threats via distraction. When not foraging, the male commonly stands guard and will often be the first (and more adamant) to react, but the female will also leave the nest to take part. The pair will repeatedly vocalise to try to get the threat to pursue them away from the nest. If the threat is particularly close to the nest, they may make short low distraction flights, or even feign injuries. However, with repeated exposure to a particular threat (such as a human), they tend to become somewhat accustomed to them and not as prone to react, with the female often not even leaving the nest.
Because of its large numbers and readily identified behaviour, the oystercatcher is an importantindicator species for the health of the ecosystems where it congregates. Extensive long-term studies have been carried out on itsforaging behaviour in northernGermany, theNetherlands, and particularly on theRiver Exe estuary in south-westEngland.[21] These studies form an important part of the foundation for the modern discipline ofbehavioural ecology.
It is a long-lived bird; an adult (at least three years old)ringed in England in 1982 was recaptured in 2025, 43 years after ringing, making it at least 46 years old.[22]
^Hayman, Peter; Marchant, John; Prater, Tony (1986).Shorebirds: An Identification Guide to the Waders of the World. London: Croom Helm.ISBN978-0-395-60237-9.
^abcdSnow, D.W.; Perrins, C.M., eds. (1997).The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Vol. 1 (Abridged ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 535–538.ISBN0-19-854099-X.
^Hockey, P.A.R. (1996)."Family Haematopodidae (Oystercatchers)". In del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J. (eds.).Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 3: Hoatzin to Auks. Barcelona, Spain: Lynx Edicions. pp. 308–325 [323].ISBN978-84-87334-20-7.
Cramp, Stanley, ed. (1983). "Haematopus ostralegus Oystercatcher".Handbook of the Birds of Europe the Middle East and North Africa. The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Vol. 3: Waders to Gulls. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 17–35.ISBN978-0-19-857506-1.
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