© Markus Craig
© Markus Craig
© Peter Steward
© Niall D Perrins

African Oystercatcher Haematopus moquini

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Identification

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A plump, coastal shorebird that is glossy black in plumage with salmon-red legs and reddish eye, eye-ring, and bill. The juvenile is duller, with pink-brown bill and grayish-pink legs. Conspicuous on rocky coastlines and sandy shores, where it feeds on invertebrates like mussels, limpets, and worms. It is often first detected by its distinctive, high-pitched piping “pleek” and “peeka-peeka” alarm calls. Similar Eurasian Oystercatcher differs from African Oystercatcher by its white belly and throat.

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