Birds Guide

Avocets
Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia   Phylum: Chordata   Class: Aves   Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Recurvirostridae   Genus: Recurvirostra Linnaeus, 1758
Species
Recurvirostra avosetta Recurvirostra americana Recurvirostra novaehollandiae Recurvirostra andina

The four species of Avocets are waders in the same bird family as the stilts. They are found in warm or hot climates.

They have long legs and long, thin, upcurved bills which they sweep from side to side when feeding in the brackish or saline wetlands they prefer. The plumage is pied, sometimes also with some red.

The avocets have webbed feet and they will readily swim. Their diet consists of aquatic insects and other small creatures.

They nest on the ground in loose colonies. In estuarine settings they may feed on exposed bay muds or mudflats.

The four species, all in the genus Recurvirostra are:

• Pied Avocet, Recurvirostra avosetta
  American Avocet, Recurvirostra americana
  Red-necked Avocet, Recurvirostra novaehollandiae
  Andean Avocet, Recurvirostra andina