Eurasian oystercatcher - Haematopus ostralegus

Common Name :	Eurasian oystercatcher.
Binomial Name :	Haematopus ostralegus
Family :	Haematopodidae
Photo Taken :	Ireland, Northern Ireland.

Eurasian oystercatcher is a common bird that is found in Europe, Asia. This wader bird is known as different other names such as Common oystercatcher, Common pied oystercatcher, or simply Oystercatcher. Binomial name of the bird is Haematopus ostralegus and belongs to the oystercatcher family Haematopodidae. This is the national bird of the Faroe Islands.

Eurasian oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) is a normal sized bird with prominent black and white color. The upper part of the bird is white where as the under part is white. But at first glance it may look like a black colored bird. Color of the head and neck of the bird is black as well. Being a wader bird they have long legs and long bill. The color of bill is bright orange (and which makes the bird really beautiful). Color of the eye is reddish.

Eurasian oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) is a migratory bird in some countries during winter. But in Ireland and United Kingdom they are seen all around the year. They prefer to live near the coastal line. They make their nest in ground by scraping the grasses and straws. A female lays 2-3 eggs in a clutch. Both parents incubates the eggs.

If the Oystercatcher lives near the coastal area then they mostly prey on cockles, mussels, etc. But if they are living inland then eat worms and other invertebrates. The strong bill helps the bird to prise the mussels and other similar species (which other wader birds can not).

Photos of Eurasian oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) were taken from the following locations.
1. March 2016: Bull Island, Ireland.
2. August 2016: Malahide, Ireland.
3. October 2017: White park bay, Northern Ireland.


This article has written by Lonely Traveler,
for the blog http://icbird.blogspot.com/