Common Name: Pied Oystercatcher

Distribution: Found in coastal areas around the Australian continent, except for areas of unbroken sea cliffs such as the Great Australian Bight, SA.

Ecological Notes: The species has a habitat preference for mudflats, sandbanks and sandy ocean beaches and is less common along rocky or shingle coastlines. It is rarely recorded far from the coast. The Pied Oystercatcher feeds upon bivalve molluscs, such as the Common Pipi (Plebidonax deltoides), worms, crustaceans and insects.

Additional Notes: Oystercatchers feed on bivalve molluscs, which are prised apart with their specially adapted bills. Food is found by sight, or by probing their long, chisel-shaped bills in the mud. Nesting takes place on sand, shell grit or shingle just above high water mark on beaches, sandbars, margins of estuaries and lagoons.

References: Atlas of Living Australia at Pied Oystercatcher Accessed 14 August 2023.

Birdlife Australia at https://birdlife.org.au/bird-profile/australian-pied-oystercatcher Accessed 27 July 2020.