Red-necked Avocet Recurvirostra novaehollandiae Scientific name definitions

40–48 cm; 270–390 g; tarsus 81–97 mm in male, 81–90 mm in female. Head and most of neck deep chestnut-red, sharply demarcated from white body; white eyering  ; pair of parallel blackish stripes  on sides of back, extensive blackish on upperwing-coverts and outer seven primaries blackish , pattern recalling that of R. avosetta; black bill strongly upcurved ; legs pale blue-grey. Female has more steeply upcurved bill, although sexual dimorphism apparently somewhat less pronounced than in similar and closely related R. avosetta and R. americana. No seasonal variation. Juvenile similar, but head and neck paler brown; broad pale ring around base of bill.

Australia, occurring mainly in S, but widespread and with scattered distribution.

Breeds preferably at inland salt-lakes; also frequents, and commonly breeds at, variety of shallow, generally ephemeral, wetlands of wide salinity range, including hypersaline lakes, freshwater lakes, dams, lagoons, marshes, sewage ponds and shallow edges of rivers and estuaries.

Occurs mainly in S Australia , where dispersive in response to changing water levels. Seasonal pattern involving inland movement in winter and coastal movement in summer may be modified by inland drought, or rainfall and subsequent availability of food; prolonged or severe droughts cause dispersal into areas where species usually rare, e.g. E of Great Dividing Range. Possible movements into parts of N Australia also recorded. Vagrant to New Guinea (Irian Jaya) (1 Bostock, N. (2000). Australian Avocet in Irian Jaya. Kukila. 11: 152. Close ), Tasmania and New Zealand.

Not studied in detail. Feeds on variety of aquatic invertebrates  including annelid worms, molluscs, variety of crustaceans and insects; also seeds. Feeds by scything in lower water column or mud layer; sometimes also by pecking. Diurnal forager.

Most-frequently heard call a repeated trumpet-like nasal “tuut”. In alarm, a similar-sounding trilled “tu-tu-tuut”. Calling groups sound like small dogs yapping.

Season mainly Aug–Jan in some southern areas, but also Jun (2 Chapman, A. and Lane, J.A.K. (1997). Waterfowl usage of wetlands in the south-east arid interior of Western Australia 1992–93. Emu. 97(1): 51–59. Close ); elsewhere opportunistic, depending on wetlands being filled with floodwater. Breeds in solitary pairs or in colonies of up to 150 pairs, sometimes in company of Himantopus himantopus and other waterbirds; nests are minimum of 1·6 m apart, and comprise depression in ground, lined with vegetation. Usually four eggs (2–5); incubation probably at least c. 23–25 days; downy chicks  buff above, white below, with dark brown eyestripe, dark brown spots on crown and large paired spots on back; chicks nidifugous, cared for by both parents. Hatching success 31% for 72 eggs.

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Total population exceeds 100,000 birds; main site is L Eyre, with 95,000 birds in early 1980s. Has bred at two sites in arid SE of Western Australia, L Miranda and L Arrow (2 Chapman, A. and Lane, J.A.K. (1997). Waterfowl usage of wetlands in the south-east arid interior of Western Australia 1992–93. Emu. 97(1): 51–59. Close ). Numbers in E Australia between 1980s and early 2000s peaked in 1984 (46,755 birds), but the mean total was c. 6500 (3 Nebel, S., J. L. Porter, and R. T. Kingsford (2008). Long-term trends of shorebird populations in eastern Australia and impacts of freshwater extraction. Biological Conservation 141(4):971–980. Close ), while mean numbers in the Coorong wetland of South Australia in 2000–2007 were c. 1800 individuals, whereas 7210 were recorded in 1985 (4 Paton, D.C., Rogers, D.J., Hill, B.M., Bailey, C.P. and Ziembicki, M. (2009). Temporal changes to spatially stratified waterbird communities of the Coorong, South Australia: implications for the management of heterogenous wetlands. Animal Conservation. 12(5): 408–417. Close ). Gradual loss of wetlands in some areas possibly offset by creation of salt-works and sewage ponds where birds frequently occur. Species formerly present in New Zealand, mainly on South I, where apparently became only tenuously established following irruption starting in 1859; present during latter half of 19th century, but now merely vagrant, with only two definite records from 20th century (1912 and 1968–1970).