Oystercatchers

There are many varieties of Oystercatchers and here's a little information about two of the species.

VARIABLE OYSTERCATCHER Torea, torepango As the name suggests this bird's feathers can vary from black to pied with the black stage being the most prevalent. Unlike the Pied Oystercatcher most birds prefers rocky and sandy coasts to establish their territory.

PIED OYSTERCATCHER Torea Mating and producing young occurs around stream beds inland and then they move to inlets and coves during the autumn and winter months. Birders easily identified the Pied Oystercatcher because of its distinct black and white coloring and bright orange bill. Bird watchers commonly see the birds probing in the mud and sand looking for food.

Most of the species of Oystercatchers have black as the dominant color and the darker upper parts of their feathers show purple, blue and bronze/green reflections, and when in flight, a white wing strip shows.

Some call the Oystercatchers, sea pies that wade along the seashore.

Oystercatchcrs are found on every continent except Antarctica. Most species are apart geographically from their neighbors. In South America the Falkland Islands, New Zealand and Australia one of the pair of species is Pied the other Black.

Some Oystercatchers are completely black while others are pied. Pied Oystercatchers have a black head, black top parts, a white belly and rump, white tips on its primary wing feathers and patches on secondary feathers. They vary in length from 16 inches to 21 inches. Their feet have three toes colored pink to pale pink depending on age. The bill of the Oystercatcher is about 3 1/2 inches long colored bright orange during breeding season and duller the rest of the year. The iris of their eye is bright scarlet and the female bird is slightly larger than the male. While sleeping the Oystercatcher hides its beak under its feathers. These birds will mob a predator vigorously driving the predator away before it finds the Oystercatchers eggs.

The birds can only feed at low tide and do feed during the day and in the evening. Because they choose to live, feed, breed and raise their young on beaches and sand dunes humans invade their territory, often without knowing.

Also pairs of Oystercatchers differ in their feeding and breeding habits that helps species separation and allows peaceful coexistence.

The bird with its long beak pull mussels off their beds, turn them over and hammer a hole in the flat surface and cut the strong abductor muscle that holds the two halves of the shell together. Once this muscle is severed the bird can use its bill as a lever prying the shells apart. The Oystercatcher then chisels out the meat with scissor like movements of the bill. The ventral surface is the weakest area of the mussel shell and the Oystercatchers adapted to opening the mussel in the easiest possible manner. When the mussel is underwater the shell halves gape so that the bird can sever the abductor muscle with one quick stabbing action, without breaking the shell.

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