South Island Pied Oystercatcher (Haematopus finschi)

Large. Medium, straight bill. Sexes alike.

Adults: Upperparts, throat, breast, black. Belly, rump, white. Eyering, red. Eye, red. Broad, angled white wingbar visible in flight. Underwing, most white, only tips black. Bill, orange. Legs, red.

Immatures: Like adult but black parts have brownish edges. Legs are paler.

Other Names (World)
South Island Pied Oystercatcher, South Island Oystercatcher, Oystercatcher, Pied Oystercatcher, Finsch's Oystercatcher

Family
Haematopodidae (Oystercatchers)

Size
43 - 47 cm

First Described (Guide)
Martens, 1897

Derivation
Hae-mat'-o-pus - Gk, haimatos, blood; Gk, pous, foot: finschi - after Freidrich Herman Otto Finsch (1838 - 1917), German diplomat, ornithologist, collector and author

Habitat
Beaches and mudflats of estuaries, occasionally reefs and paddocks.

Range (Guide)

New Zealand (B).

Vagrant to Australia, New Caledonia, Vanuatu.

Vagrant to Lord Howe Island.

Population
Estimated population is 50000 - 99999 (2020) and decreasing.

Status LC
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Food
Mainly molluscs and worms. Occasionally insects, sea anenomes and small fish.

Voice
A loud, sharp, piping, uttered in flight and from the beach.

Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (10)...)

South Island Oystercatcher (Haematopus finschi) [XC46620]
by nick talbot from Ferrymeade Estuary, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand (call)

South Island Oystercatcher (Haematopus finschi) [XC207670]
by Dan Lane from Akaroa, Canterbury, New Zealand (flight call)

Nest
A scrape in the sand, sometimes lined with small dry twigs and pebbles.

Eggs (Guide)
1 - 3, usually 2; brownish stone with dark brown and pale brown blotches; oval; 56 x 39 mm. Incubation: 24 - 28 days; by both sexes.

Young
Precocial, nidifugous. Fledge in about 42 days.

Subspecies
Eurasian Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) and South Island Pied Oystercatcher (Haematopus finschi) (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993), cross-regional species, are retained as separate species contra Turbott (1990) who include finschi as a subspecies of Eurasian Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus).

Frequently considered to be subspecies of Eurasian Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) or Pied Oystercatcher (Haematopus longirostris).

Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Eurasian Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus).

No subspecies.

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

Files:

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