Pied Avocet
Recurvirostra avosetta
Wetlands. Entirely pied waterbird. Told by black, upturned bill; legs white.
Avocets, Stilts
LC
Not Endemic
Description
Common resident. Thin, upturned bill diagnostic. Where the adult has black plumage, the immature has dark brown. Call a liquid ‘kluut’, several birds sometimes calling together. Flocks, varying from a few individuals to hundreds, occur in shallow waters of inland lakes, dams and pans (especially sewage ponds) and at coastal lagoons and estuaries. Feeds by wading, the immersed bill being swept from side to side while the bird walks slowly forward, or while swimming. Nomadic when not breeding and irregular in many regions.
Quick Facts
Size
43 cm - L
Names
A: Bontelsie
Z: usipheshula
Ss: Motume
Bird Family
Elegant, long-legged, long-billed, black-and-white wading birds. Avocets have upturned bills; stilts have straight bills.
Distribution
Gallery
Behaviour
Breeding
Habitat
Flocks, varying from a few individuals to hundreds, occur in shallow waters of inland lakes, dams and pans (especially sewage ponds) and at coastal lagoons and estuaries.
