Red-necked Avocet (Recurvirostra novaehollandiae)

Large. Long necked, long upcurved bill. Sexes similar.

Adults: Head, chestnut. Neck, chestnut. Eye-ring, white. Above, white, black on wings. Below, white. Eye, red-brown. Bill, black and upturned. Legs, blue-grey, partially webbed.

Immatures: As adults but head and neck pallid chestnut-white.

Downy Young: Pale grey above, speckled with black, forming a pair of broken lines down upper back. White tinged buff below.

Other Names (World)
Red-necked Avocet, Australian Avocet, Cobbler, Yelper, Trumpeter, Painted Lady, Avocet

Family
Recurvirostridae (Avocets, Stilts)

Size
40 - 45 cm

First Described (Guide)
Vieillot, 1816

Derivation
Re-curv'-i-ros'-tra - L., recurvus, turned back; L., rostrum, bill: novaehollandiae - N.L., of New Holland.

Abundance (Guide)
LA - C

Locally abundant, but scarce near the north and north-east coasts. Vagrant to Tasmania.

Habitat
Shallow, inland wetlnds, prefering saline waters. Flooded claypains, mud springs, dams, lagoons, shallow swamps, margins of rivers and estuaries.

Range (Guide)

Australia (B).

Vagrant to Indonesia, New Zealand.

Australia generally, except northern and eastern coastal regions.

Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.

Population
Estimated population is 110,000 (2010).

Status LC
Probably secure.

For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Habits
In pairs or flocks.

Food
Aquatic animals and plants.

Voice
Various trumpeting whistles 'toot-toot' in contact and alarm at nest colonies.

(28Kb) © ? (2)

Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (6)...)

Red-necked Avocet (Recurvirostra novaehollandiae) [XC860153]
by Greg McLachlan from Western Treatment Plant, Victoria, Australia (call)

Red-necked Avocet (Recurvirostra novaehollandiae) [XC107793]
by from Herschel Lake, Rottnest Island, Western Australia, Australia (call)

Breeding Season (Guide)
August - December but influenced by climatic conditions.

Nest
A depression in the ground, lined with scraps of swamp vegatation, usually on small islands in lakes or flooded ground, or at edge of swamp.

Eggs (Guide)
Clutch Size: 4
Color: olive-brown to pale brown, heavily spotted and blotched with dark brown and grey
Dimensions: 48 x 33 mm (oval to pyriform)
Incubation: 21 - 28 days by both sexes

Young
Precocial, nidifugous.

Subspecies
No subspecies.

Similar Species
Banded Stilt (Cladorhynchus leucocephalus)
From a distance or in silhouette, especially with immatures. Has a white head. Less white in wings. Legs, orange-pink. Feet are not webbed.

Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus)
No white in wings. Legs, pink. Adults have a black neck but white head. Immatures have a black smudgy head. Feet are not webbed.

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References
See References.

The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9

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