Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta)

Scientific Classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Recurvirostridae
Genus: Recurvirostra
Species: R. avosetta

Identification
The Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta) is a large wader in the avocet and stilt family, Recurvirostridae.

Adults have white plumage except for a black cap and black patches in the wings and on the back. They have long, upturned bills and long, bluish legs. Juvenile birds are brown where the adult is black, and the juvenile’s white plumage is often blotched with greyer patches.

The call of the Avocet is a loud klute-klute-klute.

This species gets its English and scientific names from its black cap, as once worn by European advocates or lawyers.

Habitat
Their breeding habitat is in shallow lakes with brackish water and bare mud exposed. They nest on open ground, often in small groups, sometimes with other waders. 3-5 eggs are laid in a lined scrape or on a mound of vegetation.

They breed in temperate Europe and western and Central Asia. This species is migratory and most winter in Africa or southern Asia. Some remain to winter in the mildest parts of their range, for example in southern Spain and southern England.

These birds forage in shallow brackish water or on mud flats, often sweeping their bills from side to side in water. They mainly eat crustaceans and insects.

Location
Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve
Singapore
March 2007