Birda Logo
Features
Birda+
About
Species Guide
Challenges
Shop
loading...
A photo of a American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus)
American Oystercatcher

American Oystercatcher

Haematopus palliatus

The American oystercatcher, known scientifically as Haematopus palliatus, is a striking bird with a bold black and white plumage contrast and a vivid orange beak. The head and breast are cloaked in black, while the back, wings, and tail exhibit a greyish-black hue. The underparts gleam white, and this white extends to the inner wing feathers, which are revealed in flight. The bird's eyes are encircled by orange rings, complementing the yellow irises, and the legs are a delicate pink. Adult American oystercatchers range from 42 to 52 centimeters in length.

Identification Tips

To identify the American oystercatcher, look for its long, stout, bright orange beak and the distinctive black and white coloring. The black head and breast contrast sharply with the white belly, and the greyish-black back and wings. The yellow irises and orange orbital rings around the eyes are also key features, along with the pink legs.

Habitat

During the breeding season, the American oystercatcher frequents coastal habitats such as sand or shell beaches, dunes, salt marshes, marsh islands, mudflats, and dredge spoil islands composed of sand or gravel. Outside of the breeding season, they can be found feeding in mud or salt flats exposed by the tide and on shellfish beaches.

Distribution

The American oystercatcher is found along the Atlantic coast of North America from Massachusetts to Florida, extending to the Gulf coast, the Caribbean, and further south to Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina. On the Pacific side, they range from California through Mexico, Central America, Peru, and Chile. After a period of local extinction in the northeastern United States in the 19th century, protection under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act allowed them to reoccupy historical habitats in the coastal Northeast.

Behaviour

These birds are intimately connected to coastal environments, nesting on beaches and islands and feeding on marine invertebrates. They use their robust beaks to pry open bivalve mollusks and raise a clutch of two or three eggs.

Song & calls

During courtship, American oystercatchers produce a single piping note as they walk together, which can progress to mutual calling as they run side by side and may culminate in a tightly coordinated flight around their territory.

Breeding

American oystercatchers reach breeding maturity at 3–4 years of age and breed between April and July. They create shallow depressions in the sand to serve as nests, which they line with shells and pebbles. The female lays 2–4 speckled eggs per nest, which both parents incubate for 25 to 27 days.

Diet and Feeding

The diet of the American oystercatcher consists almost exclusively of shellfish and other marine invertebrates, including oysters, mussels, clams, limpets, sea urchins, starfish, crabs, and worms. They are adept at opening partially closed shells to feed on the mollusks inside and may also probe the sand for clams or carry loose shellfish out of the water to hammer open their shells.

Conservation status

The American oystercatcher is currently listed as "Least Concern" by the IUCN, with a stable and possibly increasing population in the United States. However, in some states, it is considered a species of concern due to low and declining numbers. The North American population is on the 2014 State of the Birds Watch List. While not federally listed as threatened or endangered, the species is vulnerable to habitat loss from coastal development and sea level rise, as well as threats from pollution, disease, and invasive species affecting food availability.

American Oystercatcher Sounds



Recorded by: © 
App logo
Birda is a birdwatching app and community aimed at curious people who want to deepen their connection with nature.

American Oystercatcher Fun Facts

Did you know?
American Oystercatchers can live for up to 24 years.

American Oystercatchers on Birda

Sightings

More Oystercatchers

A photo of a Blackish Oystercatcher (Haematopus ater)

Blackish Oystercatcher

Haematopus ater
Birda Logo

Your birdwatching journey like never before

Connect with nature in minutes
Take a walk, look out of the window and log the birds that you see. Feel good about those little connections to nature.
Discover the joy of birding
Find new birding spots, see more birds, share and celebrate with a like-minded community of nature lovers.
Play your part in saving nature
Logging your birding sightings and sessions turns into positive action for our planet. Every sighting counts.

Birda Blog

What Our Birders Say
Anonymous
The best bird logging app
Birda is honestly the best bird logging app I have seen. I love all the features it has from being able to do a session and log all the birds you see in one sitting, to being able to connect with other birders from all over the globe!
Madstherangers
A mordern game changer
Birda is an awesome app, its updated the world of birding to the modern day with a fun and easy to use app. It’s engaging and allows positive interaction with fellow bird lovers!
Leonie
We've been waiting for an App like this
Excellent! We've been waiting for an app like this! Thank you! It would be nice if you could assign additional birds to sessions later!
Tralisalandhoop
Fantastic app - Love it!
Love this app and have used it almost daily. Lots of species information and easy to use. Love seeing birds spotted by other users in the UK and worldwide.
Safira V
Birding and wellbeing app
Birda is an excellent platform to share your love of Birding and is a great tool of encouragement for a Birding Beginner like me. Birda has a very kind and supportive community of Birding enthusiasts. For me BIRDA is not only a BIRDING but also a WELLBEING App.
Nedz53
Really useful
Downloaded to give it a try, everything worked perfectly, recorded my first bird watching walk. Very impressed. Have already recommended to friends!
Marlster24
Very Wholesome App
Joined this app with a new interest in watching birds to help me find out what I was spotting. The community is very active in helping identify birds which is great and everyone is very kind so it’s just a nice wholesome community. I would definitely recommend this for any bird spotter 😄
Jane N
A great app
Enjoying it immensely and finding it useful too. Recording the different birds and counting them is showing me how the present climate is affecting them all. I've trebled the numbers by planting native hedging. A great app.
David C
Very knowledgeable group
Nice friendly birding community. Very knowledgeable group with a willingness to help.
JCBirding
Just what birding needs
We need more fun in birding, for years it has had a reputation for being up tight and stuffy and only perused by retirees and anoraks. Birda helps change that perception and firmly brings birding into the 21st century! Fun, interactive while still contributing to science and conservation. If you aren’t on it, why not??
As featured in
Birda Logo
AboutPressAmbassadorsAffiliatesInfluencersCareersPrivacyTerms & Conditions
An app for birdwatchers
Connect with us
Copyright © 2024 Chirp Birding. All rights reserved.