The American oystercatcher is a large shorebird. It is 17-21 inches (43–53 cm) in length with a wingspan of 32 to 35 inches (81–89 cm).
It has long pink legs and a long, bright reddish-orange bill. It has black feathers on top and white feathers on its underside and rump. It has a large white stripe on its wings, visible when it is in flight. Its eyes are yellow with an orange ring around them.
Males and females look alike.
The American oystercatcher is found on rocky and sandy beaches, on mudflats, and on the edges of salt marshes.
The American oystercatcher is not listed as a federally threatened or endangered species, but it is vulnerable to habitat loss due to coastal development where it breeds and winters.
The American oystercatcher uses its long bill to pry open mussels, oysters, and other bivalves. They snap the adductor muscles of the bivalves with their long bill so the shell can’t close up.
The American oystercatcher also eats barnacles, starfish, crabs, and jellyfish. It forages in shallow water by sticking its bill in the mud and probing for food.
The American oystercatcher breeds from April to July. The female oystercatcher lays 2 to 4 eggs in a shallow depression lined with pieces of shell in a sandy dune or on a salt marsh island. Both the male and the female incubate the eggs for 24-27 days. Both parents care for the chicks.
The chicks fledge when they are 30-35 days old, but their parents continue to care for them for another month. The American oystercatcher first breeds when it is three or four years old.
The American oystercatcher has a lifespan of 10-12 years in the wild.
American oystercatchers don’t live in colonies, but they do gather in large groups before migrating.
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The American oystercatcher can be found in New Hampshire.
They have been spotted on Star Island in the Isles of Shoals and in Odiorne Point State Park in Rye.
In 2022, the first nesting pair on record in the state built a nest on the Isles of Shoals and raised two chicks.
The American oystercatcher breeds along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts from Massachusetts south to Argentina and Chile. It winters from New Jersey south to South America.
The American oystercatcher is also found on the Pacific Coast from Baja California south to South America.
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