Also known as: Common Pied Oystercatcher, Oystercatcher
The Eurasian Oystercatcher is a large species of shorebird that lives across parts Europe, Asia, and Africa. They are also known as Pied Oystercatchers or simply Oystercatcher.
Eurasian Oystercatchers are unusually conspicuous for shorebirds, with a highly contrasting black-and-white plumage accompanied by bright red-orange legs and bills. Unlike most other species of Oystercatcher, Eurasian Oystercatchers will breed far inland; other species are more likely to be found exclusively by water.
Eurasian Oystercatchers feed on a variety of prey, including molluscs, invertebrates, and worms. They don't necessariy feed on just oysters!
From IUCN Red List: The Eurasian Oystercatcher is listed as Near Threatened
on the IUCN Red List and was last assessed in 2015 by BirdLife International. This species has been uplisted to Near Threatened as it almost meets the requirements for listing as threatened under criteria A2ab+3b+4ab. It has an extremely large range and population size, and the largest flyway population increased strongly between the 1960s and 1990s but subsequently declined moderately rapidly. The recent decline may be part of a longer-term fluctuation and the population should be monitored carefully to ascertain whether it shows signs of stabilising. None of the remaining flyway populations have increased. Should new information suggest declines are continuing or that actions to benefit the species, such as limiting mechanical shellfishery operations, are not leading to population recoveries, the species would merit uplisting to a higher threat category.
We recently added two new species of oystercatcher to Birdorable: the Black Oystercatcher and the Eurasian Oystercatcher. These join our updated American Oystercatcher. Here are some interesting facts about this family of ... more
