Oystercatchers Temporal range: | |
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Pied oystercatcher (Haematopus longirostris) | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Charadriiformes |
Suborder: | Charadrii |
Family: | Haematopodidae Bonaparte, 1838 |
Genus: | Haematopus Linnaeus, 1758 |
Type species | |
Haematopus ostralegus Linnaeus, 1758 | |
Species | |
Twelve, see table |
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. [1]
The genus Haematopus was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae to accommodate a single species, the Eurasian oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus. [2] The genus name Haematopus comes from the Ancient Greek words haima αἳμα meaning blood, and pous πούς meaning foot, referring to the red legs of the Eurasian oystercatcher; [3] it had been in use since Pierre Belon in 1555. [4] The family Haematopodidae was introduced (as the subfamily Haematopodinae) by the French naturalist Charles Bonaparte in 1838. [5] [6]
The common name oystercatcher was coined by Mark Catesby in 1731 for the North American species H. palliatus , which he described as eating oysters. [7] [8] The English zoologist William Yarrell in 1843 established this as the preferred term, replacing the older name sea pie, [7] [9] although the term had earlier been used by the Welsh Naturalist Thomas Pennant in 1776 in his British Zoology. [10]
The different species of oystercatcher show little variation in shape or appearance. They range from 39–50 centimetres (15+1⁄2–19+1⁄2 inches) in length and 72–91 cm (28+1⁄2–36 in) in wingspan. The Eurasian oystercatcher is the lightest on average, at 526 grams (1 pound 2+1⁄2 ounces), while the sooty oystercatcher is the heaviest, at 819 g (1 lb 13 oz). [11] The plumage of all species is either all-black, or black (or dark brown) on top and white underneath.
The variable oystercatcher is slightly exceptional in being either all-black or pied. They are large, obvious, and noisy plover-like birds, with massive long orange or red bills used for smashing or prying open molluscs. The bill shape varies between species, according to the diet. Those birds with blade-like bill tips pry open or smash mollusc shells, and those with pointed bill tips tend to probe for annelid worms. They show sexual dimorphism, with females being longer-billed and heavier than males. [1]
The diet of oystercatchers varies with location. Species occurring inland feed upon earthworms and insect larvae. [1] The diet of coastal oystercatchers is more varied, although dependent upon coast type; on estuaries, bivalves, gastropods and polychaete worms are the most important part of the diet, whereas rocky shore oystercatchers prey upon limpets, mussels, gastropods, and chitons. Other prey items include echinoderms, fish, and crabs.
Nearly all species of oystercatcher are monogamous, although there are reports of polygamy in the Eurasian oystercatcher. They are territorial during the breeding season (with a few species defending territories year round). There is strong mate and site fidelity in the species that have been studied, with one record of a pair defending the same site for 20 years. A single nesting attempt is made per breeding season, which is timed over the summer months. The nests of oystercatchers are simple affairs, scrapes in the ground which may be lined, and placed in a spot with good visibility.
The eggs of oystercatchers are spotted and cryptic. Between one and four eggs are laid, with three being typical in the Northern Hemisphere and two in the south. Incubation is shared but not proportionally, females tend to take more incubation and males engage in more territory defence. Incubation varies by species, lasting between 24–39 days. Oystercatchers are also known to practice "egg dumping." Like the cuckoo, they sometimes lay their eggs in the nests of other species such as seagulls, abandoning them to be raised by those birds. [12]
The Canary Islands oystercatcher became extinct during the 20th century. The Chatham oystercatcher is endemic to the Chatham Islands of New Zealand and is listed as endangered by the IUCN, while both the African and Eurasian oystercatchers are considered near threatened. There has been conflict with commercial shellfish farmers, but studies have found that the impact of oystercatchers is much smaller than that of shore crabs.
The genus contains twelve species. [13] Species in taxonomic order:
Common name | Scientific name and subspecies | Range | Size and ecology | IUCN status and estimated population |
---|---|---|---|---|
Magellanic oystercatcher | Haematopus leucopodus Garnot, 1826 | Southern South America | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC |
Blackish oystercatcher | Haematopus ater Vieillot & Oudart, 1825 | South America | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC |
Black oystercatcher | Haematopus bachmani Audubon, 1838 | West coast of North America | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC |
American oystercatcher | Haematopus palliatus Temminck, 1820 | North and South America | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC |
† Canary Islands oystercatcher | Haematopus meadewaldoi Bannerman, 1913 | Canary Islands | Size: Habitat: Diet: | EX |
African oystercatcher | Haematopus moquini (Bonaparte, 1856) | Southern Africa | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC |
Eurasian oystercatcher or Palaearctic oystercatcher | Haematopus ostralegus Linnaeus, 1758 | Europe, Asia and northern Africa | Size: Habitat: Diet: | NT |
Pied oystercatcher | Haematopus longirostris Vieillot, 1817 | Australia | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC |
South Island oystercatcher | Haematopus finschi Martens, 1897 | New Zealand | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC |
Chatham oystercatcher | Haematopus chathamensis Hartert, 1927 | Chatham Islands | Size: Habitat: Diet: | EN |
Variable oystercatcher | Haematopus unicolor (Forster, 1844) | New Zealand | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC |
Sooty oystercatcher | Haematopus fuliginosus Gould, 1845 | Australia | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC |
Several fossil species are known, including Haematopus sulcatus (Brodkorb, 1955) from the Barstovian of Florida and Zanclean of North Carolina, and which is evidently considered a synonym of the extant species Haematopus palliatus. [14]
The four species of avocets are a genus, Recurvirostra, of waders in the same avian family as the stilts. The genus name comes from Latin recurvus, 'curved backwards' and rostrum, 'bill'. The common name is thought to derive from the Italian (Ferrarese) word avosetta. Francis Willughby in 1678 noted it as the "Avosetta of the Italians".
The common shelduck is a waterfowl species of the shelduck genus, Tadorna. It is widespread and common in the Euro-Siberian region of the Palearctic, mainly breeding in temperate and wintering in subtropical regions; in winter, it can also be found in the Maghreb.
The black-winged stilt is a widely distributed, very long-legged wader in the avocet and stilt family Recurvirostridae. Its scientific name, Himantopus himantopus, is sometimes used to generalize a single, almost cosmopolitan species. Alternatively, it is restricted to the form that is widespread in Europe, Asia and Africa, which equals the nominate group of H. himantopussensu lato. Meanwhile, the black-necked and white-backed stilts both inhabit the Americas; the pied stilt ranges from Australasia and New Zealand. Today, most sources accept between one and four actual species.
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 or black-bellied plover is a large plover breeding in Arctic regions. It is a long-distance migrant, with a nearly worldwide coastal distribution when not breeding.
The European golden plover, also known as the Eurasian golden plover, or just the golden plover within Europe, is a relatively large species of plover. This species is similar to two other golden plovers, the American golden plover, Pluvialis dominica, and Pacific golden plover, Pluvialis fulva, which are both slightly smaller, slimmer and longer-legged than European golden plover, and both have grey rather than white axillary (armpit) feathers.
The Pacific golden plover is a migratory shorebird that breeds during summer in Alaska and Siberia. During nonbreeding season, this medium-sized plover migrates widely across the Pacific.
The red phalarope or grey phalarope is a small wader. This phalarope breeds in the Arctic regions of North America and Eurasia. It is migratory, and, unusually for a wader, migrates mainly on oceanic routes, wintering at sea on tropical oceans.
The Eurasian stone-curlew, Eurasian thick-knee, or simply stone-curlew is a northern species of the Burhinidae (stone-curlew) bird family.
The great spotted cuckoo is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes, which also includes the roadrunners, the anis and the coucals.
The Eurasian dotterel, also known in Europe as just dotterel, is a small wader in the plover family of birds. It is the only species placed in the genus Eudromias.
The spur-winged lapwing or spur-winged plover is a lapwing species, one of a group of largish waders in the family Charadriidae.
Charadrius is a genus of plovers, a group of wading birds. The genus name Charadrius is a Late Latin word for a yellowish bird mentioned in the fourth-century Vulgate. They are found throughout the world.
The African oystercatcher or African black oystercatcher 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. The scientific name moquini commemorates the French naturalist Alfred Moquin-Tandon who discovered and named this species before Bonaparte.
The Egyptian plover, also known as the crocodile bird, is a wader, the only member of the genus Pluvianus. It occurs in a band across Sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal in the west to Ethiopia in the east and south to parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It no longer occurs in Egypt. The species was formerly placed with the pratincoles and coursers in the family, Glareolidae, but is now regarded as the sole member of its own monotypic family Pluvianidae.
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 American oystercatcher, occasionally called the American pied oystercatcher, is a member of family Haematopodidae. Originally called the "sea pie", it was renamed in 1731 when naturalist Mark Catesby claimed that he had 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 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 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.
In the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, published in 1758, the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus described 554 species of bird and gave each a binomial name.