Sooty Oystercatcher
Haematopus fuliginosus· 蛎鹬科(3 photos)
Sooty Oystercatcher
40-52 cm. Sturdy sooty black wader with scarlet bill and dull pinkish legs. Race ophthalmicus of n. Aust. has larger, bare fleshy eye-ring and shorter bill. Immature: bill and eye-ring orange-brown; wing coverts bordered brownish; legs grey. Habits like Pied Oystercatcher but more solitary, usually singles, pairs or in small autumn and winter flocks of 20+; favours more rocky habitats than Pied. Occasional lone birds associate with flocks of Pieds and sometimes interbreed.
- Other name
- Black Oystercatcher; Redbill; Black Redbill.
- Voice
- somewhat like Pied Oystercatcher but less noisy; calls sharper.
- Habitat
- intertidal rocky and coral reefs, mostly on ocean shores; breeds mostly on offshore islands; occasionally frequents sandspits and tidal mudflats, mostly when not breeding.
- Breeding
- June-Jan.
- Eggs
- 2-3; stone-coloured, spotted and blotched purple-brown; larger, darker than Pied Oystercatcher's; laid in depression in sand among rocks, seaweed, pigface, shells, usually on island.
- Range & Status
- suitable coasts and islands of Aust. and Tas. Less common than Pied. Sedentary.
- Distribution key to races
- 1. Haematopus fuliginosus fuliginosus 2. Haematopus fuliginosus opthalmicus
