The American oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus), occasionally called the American pied oystercatcher, is a member of family Haematopodidae. Originally called the "sea pie", it was renamed in 1731 when naturalist Mark Catesby claimed that he had observed the bird eating oysters.
Distribution
The American oystercatcher is found on the Atlantic coast of North America from coastal Massachusetts to northern Florida, where it is also found on the Gulf coast, the Caribbean, and south to Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina. It is found also in the Pacific coast of California, Mexico, Central America, Peru, and Chile. In the 19th century they became locally extinct in the lower northeastern United States due to market hunting and egg collecting. After receiving protection under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, their range extended northward to re-occupy historical habitat in the coastal Northeast.
During the breeding season, these birds are found along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts and from Massachusetts south to Argentina and Chile.
Habitat
During the breeding season, the American oystercatcher can be found in coastal habitats including sand or shell beaches, dunes, salt marshes, marsh islands, mudflats, and dredge spoil islands made of sand or gravel. During migration and winter, they are found feeding in mud or salt flats that are exposed by the tide. They are also found on shellfish beaches at this time. Their nests are shallow depressions scraped into the sand by an adult.
Both parents will alternate incubating the eggs for 25 to 27 days. Chicks will fledge at about 35 days old After fledging, chicks still rely on their parents for food They have recovered significantly since the passage of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act in 1918.