Least ConcernSooty Tern
Onychoprion fuscatus
One of the 5 oystercatchers on WAnimals
Birds · Charadriiformes · Haematopodidae
Haematopus longirostris
The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk.
An oystercatcher with contrasting black-and-white plumage and the long, straight, orange-red bill characteristic of the family, adapted to opening bivalves and probing the intertidal substrate.
Weight
566 g on average
Life expectancy
33 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.
Estimated population
In the order of 12,000-14,000 individuals and 4,000-5,000 breeding pairs in Australia in the first decade of the twenty-first century; the numbers in New Guinea and the Aru Islands are unknown
Sources consulted: IUCN Red List · iNaturalist · Austen et al. 2024, Systematic Parasitology (descripción de Eimeria haematopusi) · Vieillot
Best time: All year round on the Australian coasts
The pins mark the parks where its presence is documented.
Parks and dive sites where this species has been documented — showing 10 of 20.
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Pied Oystercatcher — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Based on what we already know about pied oystercatcher.
