Toreapango - variable oystercatcher - Himantopus unicolor
Photographed on the Ashley-Rakahuri Estuary, Canterbury, New Zealand.
The variable oystercatcher is a familiar stocky coastal bird with a long, bright orange bill, found around much of New Zealand. They are often seen in pairs probing busily for shellfish along beaches or in estuaries. Previously shot for food, variable oystercatchers probably reached low numbers before being protected in 1922, since when numbers have increased rapidly. They are long-lived, with some birds reaching 30+ years of age.
The existence of different colour morphs (black, intermediate or ‘smudgy’, and pied) caused early confusion, and they were variously thought to be different species, forms, or hybrids. This confusion was compounded by a cline in morphs, with the proportion of all-black birds increasing from north to south. The colour morphs inter-breed freely and are now all accepted as being a single species.
Identification
The variable oystercatcher is a large heavily-built shorebird. Adults have black upperparts, their underparts vary from all black, through a range of ‘smudgy’ intermediate states to white. They have a conspicuous long bright orange bill (longer in females), and stout coral-pink legs. The iris is red and eye-ring orange. Downy chicks have pale-mid grey upper parts with black markings and black bill. First-year birds have a dark tip to the bill, browner dorsal plumage, and grey legs.
Voice: variable oystercatchers are very vocal; loud piping is used in territorial interactions and when alarmed, and they have a loud flight call similar to other oystercatchers. Chicks are warned of danger with a sharp, loud ‘chip’ or ‘click’.
Similar species: the black and smudgy morphs are distinctive. Pied morph birds can be confused with South Island pied oystercatcher. If seen together, adult variable oystercatchers are noticeably larger, but first-year birds may be confused. The demarcation between black and white on the breast is generally sharper on South Island pied, and they have more white showing forward of the wing when folded, and a broader white wingbar in flight. The pied morph is similar to Chatham Island oystercatcher, but their ranges are not thought to overlap - www.nzbirdsonline.org.nz
Toreapango - variable oystercatcher - Himantopus unicolor
Photographed on the Ashley-Rakahuri Estuary, Canterbury, New Zealand.
The variable oystercatcher is a familiar stocky coastal bird with a long, bright orange bill, found around much of New Zealand. They are often seen in pairs probing busily for shellfish along beaches or in estuaries. Previously shot for food, variable oystercatchers probably reached low numbers before being protected in 1922, since when numbers have increased rapidly. They are long-lived, with some birds reaching 30+ years of age.
The existence of different colour morphs (black, intermediate or ‘smudgy’, and pied) caused early confusion, and they were variously thought to be different species, forms, or hybrids. This confusion was compounded by a cline in morphs, with the proportion of all-black birds increasing from north to south. The colour morphs inter-breed freely and are now all accepted as being a single species.
Identification
The variable oystercatcher is a large heavily-built shorebird. Adults have black upperparts, their underparts vary from all black, through a range of ‘smudgy’ intermediate states to white. They have a conspicuous long bright orange bill (longer in females), and stout coral-pink legs. The iris is red and eye-ring orange. Downy chicks have pale-mid grey upper parts with black markings and black bill. First-year birds have a dark tip to the bill, browner dorsal plumage, and grey legs.
Voice: variable oystercatchers are very vocal; loud piping is used in territorial interactions and when alarmed, and they have a loud flight call similar to other oystercatchers. Chicks are warned of danger with a sharp, loud ‘chip’ or ‘click’.
Similar species: the black and smudgy morphs are distinctive. Pied morph birds can be confused with South Island pied oystercatcher. If seen together, adult variable oystercatchers are noticeably larger, but first-year birds may be confused. The demarcation between black and white on the breast is generally sharper on South Island pied, and they have more white showing forward of the wing when folded, and a broader white wingbar in flight. The pied morph is similar to Chatham Island oystercatcher, but their ranges are not thought to overlap - www.nzbirdsonline.org.nz