oystercatcher

The genus Haematopus was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae to accommodate a single species, the Eurasian oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus.{{cite book | last=Linnaeus | first=Carl | author-link=Carl Linnaeus | year=1758 | title= Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis | volume=1 | edition=10th | page=152 | publisher=Laurentii Salvii | location=Holmiae (Stockholm) | language=Latin | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/727059 }} The genus name Haematopus comes from the Ancient Greek words haima αἳμα meaning blood, and pous πούς meaning foot, referring to the red legs of the Eurasian oystercatcher;{{cite book | last= Jobling | first= James A | year= 2010| title= The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | publisher=Christopher Helm | location = London | isbn = 978-1-4081-2501-4 | page=184}} it had been in use since Pierre Belon in 1555.{{ cite book | last=Belon | first=Pierre | author-link=Pierre Belon | date=1555 | title=L'histoire de la natvre des oyseavx : avec levrs descriptions, & naïfs portraicts retirez du natvrel, escrite en sept livres | language=French | location=Paris | publisher=Gilles Corrozet | page=203 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/43989770 }} The family Haematopodidae was introduced (as the subfamily Haematopodinae) by the French naturalist Charles Bonaparte in 1838.{{cite journal | last=Bonaparte | first=Charles Lucien | author-link=Charles Lucien Bonaparte | year=1838 | title=Synopsis vertebratorum systematis | language=Latin | journal=Nuovi Annali delle Scienze Naturali, Bologna | volume=2 | pages=105–133 [118] | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/9327303 }}{{cite book | last=Bock | first=Walter J. | year=1994 | title=History and Nomenclature of Avian Family-Group Names | series=Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History | volume= 222 | publisher=American Museum of Natural History | location=New York | pages=139, 229 | hdl=2246/830 | url=http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/830 }}

The common name oystercatcher was coined by Mark Catesby in 1731 for the North American species H. palliatus, which he described as eating oysters.{{ cite book | last=Lockwood | first=W.B. | date=1984 | title=The Oxford Book of British Bird Names | location=Oxford | publisher=Oxford University Press | isbn=978-0-19-214155-2| page=113 }}{{ cite book | last=Catesby | first=Mark | author-link=Mark Catesby | year=1729–1732 | title=The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands | volume=1 | location=London | publisher=W. Innys and R. Manby | language=English, French | page=85 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/40753373 }} The English zoologist William Yarrell in 1843 established this as the preferred term, replacing the older name sea pie,{{ cite book | last=Yarrell | first=William | author-link=William Yarrell | date=1845 | title=A History of British Birds | volume=2 | location=London | publisher=J. Van Voorst | page=496 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/27506873 }} although the term had earlier been used by the Welsh Naturalist Thomas Pennant in 1776 in his British Zoology.{{Cite book |title=British Zoology v.2 |last=Pennant |first=Thomas |author-link=Thomas Pennant |publisher=Benjamin White |year=1776 |location=London |pages=482–483 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/29011#page/104/mode/1up}}

The different species of oystercatcher show little variation in shape or appearance. They range from {{convert|39|-|50|cm|in|frac=2|abbr=off}} in length and {{convert|72|-|91|cm|in|frac=2|abbr=on}} in wingspan. The Eurasian oystercatcher is the lightest on average, at {{convert|526|g|lboz|frac=2|abbr=off}}, while the sooty oystercatcher is the heaviest, at {{convert|819|g|lboz|frac=2|abbr=on}}.{{cite book|title=CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TcnOTPILlcEC&q=haematopus+fuliginosus&pg=PA98| author=John B. Dunning Jr. |publisher=CRC Press |year=1992|page=98|isbn= 978-0-8493-4258-5}} The plumage of all species is either all-black, or black (or dark brown) on top and white underneath.

The variable oystercatcher is slightly exceptional in being either all-black or pied. They are large, obvious, and noisy plover-like birds, with massive long orange or red bills used for smashing or prying open molluscs. The bill shape varies between species, according to the diet. Those birds with blade-like bill tips pry open or smash mollusc shells, and those with pointed bill tips tend to probe for annelid worms. They show sexual dimorphism, with females being longer-billed and heavier than males.

The diet of oystercatchers varies with location. Species occurring inland feed upon earthworms and insect larvae. The diet of coastal oystercatchers is more varied, although dependent upon coast type; on estuaries, bivalves, the ivygastropods and polychaete worms are the most important part of the diet, whereas rocky shore oystercatchers prey upon limpets, mussels, gastropods, and chitons. Other prey items include echinoderms, fish, and crabs.

File:Oystercatcher Chicks and Egg (50252127477).jpg

Nearly all species of oystercatcher are monogamous, although there are reports of polygamy in the Eurasian oystercatcher. They are territorial during the breeding season (with a few species defending territories year round). There is strong mate and site fidelity in the species that have been studied, with one record of a pair defending the same site for 20 years. A single nesting attempt is made per breeding season, which is timed over the summer months. The nests of oystercatchers are simple affairs, scrapes in the ground which may be lined, and placed in a spot with good visibility.

The eggs of oystercatchers are spotted and cryptic. Between one and four eggs are laid, with three being typical in the Northern Hemisphere and two in the south. Incubation is shared but not proportionally, females tend to take more incubation and males engage in more territory defence. Incubation varies by species, lasting between 24–39 days. Oystercatchers are also known to practice "egg dumping." Like the cuckoo, they sometimes lay their eggs in the nests of other species such as seagulls, abandoning them to be raised by those birds.{{cite web|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110524203605.htm |title=Birds Dumping Eggs on the Neighbors |publisher=Sciencedaily.com |date=2011-06-03 |access-date=2012-12-20}}

The Canary Islands oystercatcher became extinct during the 20th century. The Chatham oystercatcher is endemic to the Chatham Islands of New Zealand and is listed as endangered by the IUCN, while both the African and Eurasian oystercatchers are considered near threatened. There has been conflict with commercial shellfish farmers, but studies have found that the impact of oystercatchers is much smaller than that of shore crabs.

The genus contains twelve Recent species.{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela Rasmussen | date=July 2021 | title=Buttonquail, thick-knees, sheathbills, plovers, oystercatchers, stilts, painted-snipes, jacanas, Plains-wanderer, seedsnipes | work=IOC World Bird List Version 11.2 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/buttonquail/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=18 August 2021 }} Species in taxonomic order:

{{Species table |genus= Haematopus |authority-name=Linnaeus |authority-year= 1758|species-count=twelve|no-note=y|narrow-percent=75}}

{{Species table/row

|name=Magellanic oystercatcher |binomial=Haematopus leucopodus

|image=File:Magellanic Oystercatcher.jpg|image-size=180px |image-alt=

|authority-name=Garnot|authority-year=1826 |authority-not-original=

|range= Southern South America

|range-image=File:Haematopus leucopodus dist.png

|range-image-size=180px

|size=

|habitat=

|hunting=

|iucn-status= LC

|population=

|direction=

|subspecies=

}}

{{Species table/row

|name=Blackish oystercatcher |binomial=Haematopus ater

|image=File:Blackish oystercatcher Bahia Inglesa Chile.jpg|image-size=180px |image-alt=

|authority-name=Vieillot & Oudart|authority-year=1825 |authority-not-original=

|range= South America

|range-image=File:Haematopus ater map.svg

|range-image-size=180px

|size=

|habitat=

|hunting=

|iucn-status= LC

|population=

|direction=

|subspecies=

}}

{{Species table/row

|name=Black oystercatcher |binomial=Haematopus bachmani

|image=File:Black Oystercatcher.jpg|image-size=180px |image-alt=

|authority-name=Audubon|authority-year=1838 |authority-not-original=

|range= West coast of North America

|range-image=File:Haematopus bachmani map.svg

|range-image-size=180px

|size=

|habitat=

|hunting=

|iucn-status= LC

|population=

|direction=

|subspecies=

}}

{{Species table/row

|name=American oystercatcher |binomial=Haematopus palliatus

|image=File:American Oystercatcher.jpg|image-size=180px |image-alt=

|authority-name=Temminck|authority-year= 1820 |authority-not-original=

|range= North and South America

|range-image=File:Haematopus palliatus map.svg

|range-image-size=180px

|size=

|habitat=

|hunting=

|iucn-status= LC

|population=

|direction=

|subspecies=

}}

{{Species table/row

|name=† Canary Islands oystercatcher|binomial=Haematopus meadewaldoi

|image=File:Canarian Oystercatcher.jpg|image-size=180px |image-alt=

|authority-name=Bannerman|authority-year=1913 |authority-not-original=

|range= Canary Islands

|range-image=

|range-image-size=180px

|size=

|habitat=

|hunting=

|iucn-status= EX

|population=

|direction=

|subspecies=

}}

{{Species table/row

|name=African oystercatcher |binomial=Haematopus moquini

|image=File:African Black Oystercatcher (2).JPG|image-size=180px |image-alt=

|authority-name=Bonaparte|authority-year=1856 |authority-not-original=yes

|range= Southern Africa

|range-image=File:Population and breeding range of the African Black Oystercatcher Haematopus moquini.jpg

|range-image-size=180px

|size=

|habitat=

|hunting=

|iucn-status= LC

|population=

|direction=

|subspecies=

}}

{{Species table/row

|name=Eurasian oystercatcher
or Palaearctic oystercatcher |binomial=Haematopus ostralegus

|image=File:Haematopus ostralegus He.jpg|image-size=180px |image-alt=

|authority-name=Linnaeus|authority-year=1758 |authority-not-original=

|range= Europe, Asia and northern Africa

|range-image=File:Haematopus ostralegus distr.png

|range-image-size=180px

|size=

|habitat=

|hunting=

|iucn-status=NT

|population=

|direction=

|subspecies={{Collapsible list |expand=yes |title=Four subspecies |bullets=on

| H. o. ostralegus Linnaeus, 1758

| H. o. longipes Buturlin, 1910

| H. o. buturlini Dementiev, 1941

| H. o. osculans Swinhoe, 1871

}}

}}

{{Species table/row

|name=Pied oystercatcher |binomial=Haematopus longirostris

|image=File:Pied Oystercatcher.jpg|image-size=180px |image-alt=

|authority-name=Vieillot|authority-year=1817 |authority-not-original=

|range= Australia

|range-image=File:Haematopus longirostris dist.png

|range-image-size=180px

|size=

|habitat=

|hunting=

|iucn-status= LC

|population=

|direction=

|subspecies=

}}

{{Species table/row

|name=South Island oystercatcher |binomial=Haematopus finschi

|image=File:South Island pied oystercatcher 2c.JPG|image-size=180px |image-alt=

|authority-name=Martens|authority-year=1897 |authority-not-original=

|range= New Zealand

|range-image=File:Haematopus finschi dist.png

|range-image-size=180px

|size=

|habitat=

|hunting=

|iucn-status= LC

|population=

|direction=

|subspecies=

}}

{{Species table/row

|name=Chatham oystercatcher |binomial=Haematopus chathamensis

|image=File:Chatham Island Oystercatcher (Haematopus chathamensis).jpg|image-size=180px |image-alt=

|authority-name=Hartert|authority-year=1927 |authority-not-original=

|range= Chatham Islands

|range-image=

|range-image-size=180px

|size=

|habitat=

|hunting=

|iucn-status= EN

|population=

|direction=

|subspecies=

}}

{{Species table/row

|name=Variable oystercatcher |binomial=Haematopus unicolor

|image=File:Variable Oystercatcher.jpg|image-size=180px |image-alt=

|authority-name=Forster|authority-year=1844 |authority-not-original=yes

|range= New Zealand

|range-image=File:Haematopus unicolor dist.png

|range-image-size=180px

|size=

|habitat=

|hunting=

|iucn-status= LC

|population=

|direction=

|subspecies=

}}

{{Species table/row

|name=Sooty oystercatcher |binomial=Haematopus fuliginosus

|image=File:Sooty Oystercatcher.jpg|image-size=180px |image-alt=

|authority-name=Gould|authority-year=1845 |authority-not-original=

|range= Australia

|range-image=File:Haematopus fuliginosus dist.gif

|range-image-size=180px

|size=

|habitat=

|hunting=

|iucn-status= LC

|population=

|direction=

|subspecies=

}}

{{Species table/end}}

The earliest fossil of a Haematopus-like bird is a skull from the Miocene of Saint-Gérand-le-Puy, France.{{cite book |author1= De Pietri, V.L. |author2=Mayr, G. |author3=Guentert, M. |chapter= A Haematopus-like skull and other remains of Charadrii (Aves, Charadriiformes) from the Early Miocene of Saint-Gérand-le-Puy (Allier, France) |year=2013 |title=Paleornithological research: proceedings of the 8th International Meeting of the Society of Avian Paleontology and Evolution, Vienna, 2012 |editor1= Göhlich, U. B. |editor2=Kroh, A. |pages=93–101 [https://verlag.nhm-wien.ac.at/buecher/2013_SAPE_Proceedings/08_De_Pietri_et_al.pdf fulltext]}} The only other pre-Pleistocene fossils are from the Pliocene of the east coast of North America. Palostralegus sulcatuswas described from the Barstovian of Florida,{{cite journal|author=Brodkorb, P.|title= The avifauna of the Bone Valley Formation |url=https://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00001198/00001/images |journal= Florida Geological Survey, Report of Investigations |date=1955|number=14|pages=1-57}} but is now considered to belong to the modern genus. Two species are also known from Pliocene Yorktown Formation of North Carolina, and have been referred to H. aff. palliatus and H. aff. ostralegus.{{cite book |author1=Olson, Storrs L. |author2= Rasmussen, Pamela C. |chapter= Miocene and Pliocene Birds from the Lee Creek Mine, North Carolina. |year=2001 |title= Geology and Paleontology of the Lee Creek Mine, North Carolina III. |editor1= Ray, C.E. |editor2=Bohaska, D.J. |series=Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology |volume=90 |pages=233–307. [https://repository.si.edu/handle/10088/93173 PDF fulltext]}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category}}

• ARKive – [https://web.archive.org/web/20070313023730/http://www.arkive.org/species/ARK/birds/Haematopus_ostralegus/ images and movies of the oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus)]
• [http://ibc.lynxeds.com/family/oystercatchers-haematopodidae Oystercatcher videos] on the Internet Bird Collection
• [http://www.ustream.tv/channel/oystercatchers LIVE webcam at the seashore in Namsos, Norway 2013]

{{Charadriiformes|C.|state=collapsed}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q27515}}

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Category:Charadrii

Category:Shorebirds

Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus

no:Tjeldfamilien

nn:Tjeldfamilien