African oystercatcher | |
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African oystercatcher in Betty's Bay | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Dinosauria |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Charadriiformes |
Family: | Haematopodidae |
Genus: | Haematopus |
Species: | H. moquini |
Binomial name | |
Haematopus moquini Bonaparte, 1856 | |
African oystercatcher Population and Breeding Range. Orange = Breeding Range, Pale Orange = Population Range. | |
Synonyms | |
Metanibyx africana? Contents |
The African oystercatcher or African black oystercatcher (Haematopus moquini) is a large charismatic wader resident to the mainland coasts and offshore islands of southern Africa. This near-threatened oystercatcher has a population of over 6,000 adults, which breed between November and April. [9] The scientific name moquini commemorates the French naturalist Alfred Moquin-Tandon who discovered and named this species before Bonaparte. [10]
The African oystercatcher is a large, noisy wader, with completely black plumage, red legs and a strong broad red bill. The sexes are similar in appearance, however, females are larger and have a slightly longer beak than males. Juveniles have soft grey plumage and do not express the characteristic red legs and beak until after they fledged. The call is a distinctive loud piping, very similar to Eurasian oystercatchers. As the Eurasian oystercatcher is a migratory species they only occur as a vagrant in southern Africa, and its black-and-white plumage makes confusion impossible. [9]
Body Length:42–45 cm (17–18 in)
Wingspan:80 and 88 cm (31 and 35 in)
Mass: ♂ 665 g (1.466 lb) ♀ 730 g (1.61 lb)
Tarsus:50.6 to 60.8 mm (1.99 to 2.39 in)
Culmen:57.7 to 79.1 cm (22.7 to 31.1 in) [9]
The African oystercatcher is native to the mainland coasts and offshore islands of Southern Africa - sometimes occurring as a vagrant in Angola and Mozambique. Its breeding range extends from Lüderitz, Namibia to Mazeppa Bay, Eastern Cape, South Africa. There are estimated to be over 6,000 adult birds in total. [1] [9]
Typically sedentary African oystercatchers rarely leave their territories, which include a nesting site and feeding grounds. These will usually be located on or near rocky shores where they can feed.
African oystercatchers predominantly feed on molluscs such as mussels and limpets, although they are known to also feed on polychaetes, insects [11] and potentially even fish. [12] They are adapted to pry open mussels and loosen limpets off the rocks but have been recorded picking through sand to locate other food items.
The nest is a bare scrape on pebbles, sand or shingle within about 30 metres (98 ft) of the high-water mark. On rock ledges there may be a rim of shells to keep the eggs in place. The female generally lays two eggs, but there may be one or three, which are incubated by both adults. The incubation period varies between 27 and 39 days and the young take a further 38 or so days to fledge. Breeding success is greater on offshore islands where there are few predators and less disturbance than mainland sites. [13]
The eggs average about 65 mm (2.6 in) in length, ranging from 45 to 73 mm (1.8 to 2.9 in), and have a breadth of 41 mm (1.6 in), ranging from 34 to 45 cm (13 to 18 in).
The lifespan of an African oystercatcher is about 35 years, of which they are known to pair up for 25 years. Although adults are rarely predated, most mainland egg and chick fatalities are due to disturbance by people, off-road vehicles, dog attacks and predation by the kelp gull (Larus dominicanus) and other avian predators. [1] Offshore pairs experience similar avian predation although most chicks perish due to starvation.
As of December 2017 the global IUCN assessment of the African oystercatcher's status is "Least Concern". The population trend seems to be upward as the local community becomes more involved in adopting conservation measures. [1] In South Africa, the species has also been downlisted to Least Concern. [14] A long-term program by the South African Ringing Scheme is tracking the dispersal of ringed birds to keep conservation assessments in South Africa and Namibia up to date. [15]
The oystercatchers are a group of waders forming the family Haematopodidae, which has a single genus, Haematopus. They are found on coasts worldwide apart from the polar regions and some tropical regions of Africa and South East Asia. The exceptions to this are the Eurasian oystercatcher, the South Island oystercatcher, and the Magellanic oystercatcher, which also breed inland, far inland in some cases. In the past there has been a great deal of confusion as to the species limits, with discrete populations of all black oystercatchers being afforded specific status but pied oystercatchers being considered one single species.
The ruddy turnstone is a small cosmopolitan wading bird, one of two species of turnstone in the genus Arenaria.
The dunlin is a small wader, formerly sometimes separated with the other "stints" in the genus Erolia. The English name is a dialect form of "dunling", first recorded in 1531–1532. It derives from dun, "dull brown", with the suffix -ling, meaning a person or thing with the given quality.
The Eurasian oystercatcher also known as the common pied oystercatcher, or just oystercatcher, is a wader in the oystercatcher bird family Haematopodidae. 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.
The grey plover, known as the black-bellied plover in North America, is a large cosmopolitan plover breeding in Arctic regions. It is a long-distance migrant, with a nearly worldwide coastal distribution when not breeding.
The pied avocet is a large black and white wader in the avocet and stilt family, Recurvirostridae. They breed in temperate Europe and across the Palearctic to Central Asia then on to the Russian Far East. It is a migratory species and most winter in Africa or southern Asia. Some remain to winter in the mildest parts of their range, for example in southern Spain and southern England. The pied avocet is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.
The African grey hornbill is a member of the hornbill family of mainly tropical near-passerine birds found in the Old World. It is a widespread resident breeder in much of sub-Saharan Africa and the southwest of the Arabian Peninsula. The African grey hornbill has escaped or been deliberately released into Florida, USA, but there is no evidence that the population is breeding and may only persist due to continuing releases or escapes.
The kelp gull, also known as the Dominican gull, is a gull that breeds on coasts and islands through much of the Southern Hemisphere. The nominate L. d. dominicanus is the subspecies found around South America, parts of Australia, and New Zealand. L. d. vetula is a subspecies occurring around Southern Africa.
Kittlitz's plover is a small shorebird in the family Charadriidae that breeds near coastal and inland saltmarshes, sandy or muddy riverbanks or alkaline grasslands with short vegetation. It is native to much of Sub-Saharan Africa, the Nile Delta and Madagascar. It is thought to be mainly polygamous and has monomorphic plumage.
The black oystercatcher is a conspicuous black bird found on the shoreline of western North America, ranging from the Aleutian Islands of Alaska to the coast of the Baja California peninsula.
The red-billed quelea, also known as the red-billed weaver or red-billed dioch, is a small—approximately 12 cm (4.7 in) long and weighing 15–26 g (0.53–0.92 oz)—migratory, sparrow-like bird of the weaver family, Ploceidae, native to Sub-Saharan Africa.
The American oystercatcher, occasionally called the American pied oystercatcher, or PiruPiru, is a member of family Haematopodidae. Originally called the "sea pie", it was renamed in 1731 when naturalist Mark Catesby observed the bird eating oysters. The current population of American oystercatchers is estimated to be 43,000. There are estimated to be 1,500 breeding pairs along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the US. The bird is marked by its black and white body and a long, thick orange beak.
The pied oystercatcher is a species of oystercatcher. It is a wading bird native to Australia and commonly found on its coastline. The similar South Island pied oystercatcher occurs in New Zealand.
The Chatham oystercatcher or Chatham Island oystercatcher is a species of oystercatcher. It is a wading bird endemic to the Chatham Islands, New Zealand. This species is rated by the IUCN as endangered, and has a current population of 310 to 325 birds. The main threat is from introduced predators.
The sooty oystercatcher is a species of oystercatcher. It is a wading bird endemic to Australia and commonly found on its coastline. It prefers rocky coastlines, but will occasionally live in estuaries. All of its feathers are black. It has a red eye, eye ring and bill, and pink legs.
The Canary Islands oystercatcher, Canarian oystercatcher, or Canarian black oystercatcher , was a shorebird of uncertain taxonomy endemic to Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, and their offshore islets in the Canary Islands in Spain. It is now considered to be extinct.
The South Island oystercatcher or South Island pied oystercatcher is one of two common oystercatcher species found in New Zealand. Its name is often contracted to the acronym "SIPO". The indigenous Māori name is tōrea. The scientific name commemorates the German ethnographer, naturalist and colonial explorer Friedrich Hermann Otto Finsch.
The pied starling or African pied starling is a bird endemic to South Africa, Lesotho and Eswatini. It is common in most of its range, but largely absent from the arid northwest and the eastern lowlands of South Africa. It is found in open habitats such as grassland, karoo scrub, thornbush and agricultural land, and often associates with farm animals.
The Magellanic oystercatcher is a species of wader in the family Haematopodidae. It is found in Argentina, Chile and the Falkland Islands in freshwater lake and sandy shore habitats.
The variable oystercatcher is a species of wader in the family Haematopodidae. It is endemic to New Zealand. The Maori name is torea-pango. They are also known as 'red bills'.