English         -          American Oystercatcher

Portuguese  -          Piru-piru

Latin             -          Haematopus palliatus

The American oystercatcher (occasionally called the American pied oystercatcher) comes from the Haematopodidae family of birds. 

The American oystercatcher has a distinctive black and white plumage and a long, bright orange beak. The head and breast is black and the back, wings and tail is a greyish-black. The underparts are white, as are the feathers on the inner part of the wing which become visible during flight. The irises are yellow and the eyes have orange orbital rings. The legs are pink. Adults are between 42–52 cm in length. The male and females are alike, although the female is usually larger, with a longer bill. A group of oystercatchers are collectively known as a “parcel” of oystercatchers.

They feed mostly on mussels, clams, oysters; also marine worms, sand crabs, limpets, sea urchins, jellyfish, and other small creatures of the intertidal zone. Often forages by walking in shallow water, searching for food by sight. The birds have two methods of opening shell fish. The first method is to, when finding a mussel with its shell slightly open, the oystercatcher quickly jabs its bill into the opening, cutting the muscles and then cleaning out the contents. In the second method, the bird simply hammers on the shell until it breaks open.

They first breeds at the age of 3-4 years. Sometimes they mate for life. In areas with high populations they may form trios, with one male and two females attending one nest or two nearby nests. The nest sits on the ground, on marsh islands or among sand dunes, usually well above the high tide mark. The nest which is built by both sexes is a shallow scrape in the sand, sometimes lined with pebbles or shells. They lay between 1-4 Buffy gray eggs speckled with dark brown spots. If the nests is attended by two females and one male their maybe up to 5-6 eggs in the nest. Incubation is by both sexes for around 24-28 days. The young first leave the nest shortly after hatching. Both parents feed the young for the first 2 months after hatching, although the young may attempt to forage on their own well before parents stop feeding them. After 5 weeks the young are able to fly.

The American Oystercatcher is classed as being of “Least Concern”. The reasons given are, that the bird has a very wide range and that the total number of individuals is believed to be stable, and actually increasing in some cases. Nevertheless, in some American states the American oystercatcher is listed as a species of concern because of low and declining populations. The threats to their coastal habitats includes development and recreational use of nesting beaches. This species is not protected under the Endangered Species Act.

The American Oystercatcher is slightly larger than the 2 types of Oystercatchers (South Island pied Oystercatcher and the Variable oystercatcher) we have on the New Zealand mainland.

Photo No. 1     -     Taken in the town of Meaipe, Espirito Santo

Photo No.2     -     Taken at Isla do Boi, Vitoria, Espirito Santo