Least ConcernAmerican Oystercatcher
Haematopus palliatus
One of the 5 oystercatchers on WAnimals
Birds · Charadriiformes · Haematopodidae
Haematopus leucopodus
The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk.
A black-and-white oystercatcher with the head and mantle a glossy black rather than brown. Its diagnostic feature is the yellow eye surrounded by a ring of bare skin, also yellow, which no other oystercatcher has. It is also the only one in the New World with a black rather than brown back. In flight it shows a white band across the secondaries all the way to the tip.
Weight
600 g on average
Size
42 cm – 46 cm
Life expectancy
10 years
Diet
Carnivore
Feeds mainly on other animals.
Activity
Diurnal
Active mainly during the day.
Social structure
In pairs
Usually lives in pairs, sometimes for life.
Sources consulted: IUCN Red List · Wikipedia (Haematopus leucopodus) · SIB - Parques Nacionales de Argentina · del Hoyo et al., Handbook of the Birds of the World · Garnot 1826
Best time: All year round in the far south of South America
The pins mark the parks where its presence is documented.
Parks and dive sites where this species has been documented — showing 10 of 12.
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Magellanic Oystercatcher — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Based on what we already know about magellanic oystercatcher.
