Eurasian Oystercatcher Identification

The Eurasian Oystercatcher is a bit smaller than a magpie.

It is a stout wader with a rounded chest.

Its plumage is black and white like a magpie with a black upper body and a white lower body.

It has a black head, red eyes, and a long orange bill.

Its legs are flesh pink.

In non-breeding plumage, a white collar is visible.

In breeding plumage, this white collar disappears.

Juveniles are more brownish, with grayish legs, a black-tipped bill, and brown eyes.

In flight, the white on the wings and the black tail band on the upper body are noticeable.

The Eurasian Oystercatcher makes high-pitched, loud calls as a contact call when flying or perched. "k'tbiik"

During breeding, the male sings by producing accelerated series of high-pitched calls "kip kip kip kip kip kip" and "kliklikliklikli" accompanied by trills to ward off intruders.

The Eurasian Oystercatcher is often seen in groups.

Its straight and fast flight resembles that of a duck.

The Eurasian Oystercatcher nests as an isolated pair.

The nest of the Eurasian Oystercatcher is a simple depression lined with shells and seaweed on pebbles, sand, or rocks.

Between March and May, the female usually lays 3 yellowish eggs speckled with brown-black.

The Eurasian Oystercatcher eats cockles, mussels, and crustaceans, as its bill is adapted to opening bivalve mollusks.

It knows how to open shells by hammering, prying apart the valves, and cutting the muscle that connects them.

It also eats worms and insects in fields.

The Eurasian Oystercatcher is a shorebird. It is found along beaches and estuaries, but also in meadows and inland lagoons in recent years.

The Eurasian Oystercatcher can be sedentary as on the coasts of France, Belgium, and the United Kingdom.

But also migratory. In summer, some populations go to the coasts of Northern Europe and the inland areas in the east of Europe…

In winter, some populations migrate to the Mediterranean basin.

It can live up to 36 years.