Adults: Head, neck, throat, breast, black. Rest of upperparts, dark brown. Belly, rump, white. Eyering, red. Eye, yellow. Tail, base white. Narrow, short, white wingbar visible in flight. Underwing primaries, black. Secondaries, outer greater coverts, white with black tips. Bill, red with a yellowish tip. Legs, pink.
Immatures: Like adult but black parts have brownish edges. Eye, dark. Bill, red with a dark tip. Legs are paler.
Other Names (World)
American Oystercatcher, American Pied Oystercatcher
Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Brazil, Canada (B), Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Montserrat, Netherlands Antilles, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and The Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands (B), Uruguay (B), USA (B), Venezuela, Virgin Islands (British) (B) (NB), Virgin Islands (U.S.) (B) (NB).
Vagrant to Jamaica.
Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.
Population
Estimated population is 37,000 - 110,000 (2010).
American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) [XC571585]
by Manuel Grosselet from Ahome, Sinaloa, Mexico (flight call, song)
American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) [XC155089]
by Manuel Grosselet from Brigantine National Wildlife Refuge, NJ, United States (call)
Subspecies
Sometimes considered conspecific with Eurasian Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus).
The following 2 subspecies are recognised:
palliatus Temminck, 1820 - Coasts of North and South America, from Gulf of California to central Chile, and from Massachusetts to south-central Argentina, including West Indies.
BirdLife International Species Factsheet