Canarian Oystercatcher Haematopus meadewaldoi Scientific name definitions

c. 43 cm. All dark oystercatcher with red eye, orange-red eye-ring and bill, and pale pinkish red legs; in flight, when seen from below, primaries have pale bases, but this feature may be linked to feather wear. Differs from H. moquini in having shorter wings and longer bill; from New World black oystercatchers in having black, not blackish brown, dorsal coloration and a red, not yellow, eye; wing and tail shorter than in H. fuliginosus, and both bill and wing mea­surements average shorter than in black morph of H. unicolor. Juvenile unknown.

Last collected in 1913, and locally reported to have become extinct by 1940s (1 Collar, N. J., and S. N. Stuart (1985). Threatened Birds of Africa and Related Islands: the ICBP/IUCN Red Data Book. Part 1. Third edition. International Council for Bird Preservation and International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, Cambridge, UK. Close ). Two reported sightings from Tenerife (WC Canaries) since 1965 unsubstantiated. Overharvesting of this species’ basic food, intertidal invertebrates, probably led to its final demise, but human disturbance also implicated. Predation by introduced rats and cats suggested as a possible additional factor (1 Collar, N. J., and S. N. Stuart (1985). Threatened Birds of Africa and Related Islands: the ICBP/IUCN Red Data Book. Part 1. Third edition. International Council for Bird Preservation and International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, Cambridge, UK. Close ).

Graciosa, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, and offshore islets (Montaña Clara, Roque del Este), in E Canary Is.

Rocky and sandy shores. Probably predominantly a rocky shore species.

Unknown, but very probably resident.

Unknown; probably mostly mussels and limpets. Likely prey species include limpets (Patella candei, P. pipperata, P. cf. aspera) and the mussel Perna picta; all of these species have been heavily exploited by man in E Canary Is. All oystercatchers attack different prey types using variety of techniques, e.g. hammering, prising, probing, stabbing (see Family Text ).

Nest and eggs undescribed. A female “soon to lay” was collected in S Fuerteventura in early Apr 1888, and a pair in breeding condition collected on Graciosa in early Apr 1890. Clutch size probably 1-3.

EXTINCT. Described as “not frequent” in mid-19th century. Last definite record was in 1913, although local fishermen and lighthouse keepers in 1970 estimated date of extinction as around 1940. Since 1965 there have been two unsubstantiated sight records from Tenerife. It is not known to which taxon 3 black oystercatchers seen on Senegal coast in 1970 and 1975 belonged: although movement from Canary Is to African mainland has been suggested in past, there is no evidence to support this; equally unlikely, however, that these birds were H. moquini, a species not recorded N of 12° S in Angola. Expeditions to Canary Is in 1956/57, 1970, 1985 and 1986 failed to find any trace of the bird.