Oystercatcher is a group of coastal wading birds with chisel-shaped, orange-red bills. An oystercatcher uses its sharp bill to open the shells of such mollusks as mussels and oysters, and to pry limpets from rocks. During the breeding season, females scrape a shallow depression in the ground to use as a nest. They generally lay from two to four eggs.
The American oystercatcher lives on the Atlantic coast from the northern United States to Argentina, and on the Pacific coast from Lower California to Chile. It has a blackish-brown upper body, white underparts, and a black head and neck. The American black oystercatcher, which is black and blackish-brown in color, inhabits the Pacific coast from Alaska to Lower California. The common oystercatcher lives in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. It has black coloring above and white below. The sooty oystercatcher of Australia has all black plumage.
Loading the player...American oystercatcher
