Large. Long, thin, upturned bill, long legs. Sexes alike.
Adults: Mostly white but crown, hindneck, scapulars, sides of back, outer lesser and median coverts, outer 6 primaries, black. Longest scapulars, tertials, greyish-brown. Eye, dark brown. Tail, mostly pale brownish-grey. Two broad white bars in mostly black wings. Underwing, white with tips of 6 outermost primaries, black. In flight and from below looks all white with black wing tips. Bill, black. Legs, blue-grey, partially webbed.
Immatures: Black is replaced with brownish-grey. Most of white upperparts mottled with brown and buff. Bill, black. Legs, blue-grey.
Other Names (World)
Pied Avocet, Avocet, Eurasian Avocet, Yarwelp
Afghanistan (B), Albania (B) (NB), Algeria, Angola, Armenia (B) (NB), Austria (B), Azerbaijan (B) (NB) (P), Bahrain (NB), Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium (B) (NB) (P), Bhutan, Botswana (B), Bulgaria (B) (NB) (P), Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, China (mainland), Croatia (Local Name: Hrvatska) (B), Cyprus (NB) (P), Czech Republic (B), Denmark (B) (NB) (P), Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea (B), Estonia (B), Ethiopia, France (B) (NB) (P), Gabon, Gambia, Georgia (B), Germany (B) (NB) (P), Ghana, Greece (B) (NB) (P), Guinea, Guinea-bissau, Hong Kong (China), Hungary (B) (P), India, Iran [Islamic Republic of] (B) (NB) (P), Iraq (B) (NB) (P), Israel (NB) (P), Italy (B) (NB) (P), Japan, Jordan (B) (P), Kazakhstan (B), Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan (P), Lebanon, Lesotho, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Macedonia [The Former Yugoslav Republic of] (B) (NB), Malawi, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Moldova [Republic of] (B), Mongolia (B), Montenegro (B) (P), Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands Antilles (B) (NB), Niger, Nigeria, Norway (B), Oman (NB), Pakistan, Poland (B), Portugal (B) (NB), Romania (B) (P), Russia (Asian) (B), Russia (Central Asian) (B), Russia (European) (B) (P), Saudi Arabia (B) (NB), Senegal, Serbia (B) (P), Slovakia (Slovak Republic) (B), Slovenia (B) (NB), Somalia, South Africa (B), South Korea, Spain (B) (NB) (P), Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Sweden (B) (P), Switzerland (NB), Syrian Arab Republic, Taiwan (China), Tajikistan, Tanzania [United Republic of], Thailand, Tunisia (B) (NB), Turkey (B) (NB) (P), Turkmenistan (E) (B), Uganda, Ukraine (B) (NB) (P), United Arab Emirates (B) (NB) (P), United Kingdom (B) (NB) (P), Uzbekistan (B), Vietnam, Western Sahara (B), Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Vagrant to Benin, Burundi, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], Côte dIvoire, Faroe Islands, Finland, Gibraltar, Iceland, Latvia, Liberia, Luxembourg, Madagascar, North Korea, Qatar, Rwanda, Togo.
Europe through western and central Asia to south-eastern Siberia and north-eastern China, and locally through northern Africa to eastern and southern Africa. Winters from western Europe and Africa through Middle East to north-western India and south-eastern China.
Population
Estimated population is 210,000 - 460,000 (2010).
The Reader's Digest Book of British Birds 1980, 3rd Edition, Drive Publications Ltd ISBN 0 340 25308 8
Birds in Colour Campbell, B., 1960, Penguin Books Ltd
The Pocket Guide to Nest and Eggs Fitter, R.S.R., 1954, Collins
RSPB Handbook of British Birds Holden, P., Cleeves, T., 2002, A & C Black ISBN 0 7136 5713 8
Birds of Britain and Europe Sterry, P., et al., 2001, AA Publishing ISBN 0 7495 3068 5
The Popular Handbook of British Birds Hollom, P.A.D., 1973, H.F. & G. Witherby Ltd ISBN 0 85493 002 7
BirdLife International Species Factsheet