The four species of avocets are a genus, ''Recurvirostra'', of waders in the same

avian Avian may refer to: *Birds or Aves, winged animals *Avian (given name) (russian: Авиа́н, link=no), a male forename Aviation *Avro Avian, a series of light aircraft made by Avro in the 1920s and 1930s *Avian Limited, a hang glider manufacture ...

family as the

stilt Stilt is a common name for several species of birds in the family Recurvirostridae, which also includes those known as avocets. They are found in brackish or saline wetlands in warm or hot climates. They have extremely long legs, hence the grou ...

s. The genus name comes from Latin , 'curved backwards' and , 'bill'. The common name is thought to derive from the Italian ( Ferrarese) word . Francis Willughby in 1678 noted it as the "Avosetta of the Italians".

Biology

Avocets have long legs and they sweep their long, thin, upcurved bills from side to side when feeding in the brackish or saline wetlands they prefer. Their

plumage Plumage ( "feather") is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, ...

is pied, sometimes also with some red. Members of this genus have webbed feet and readily swim. Their diet consists of aquatic insects and other small creatures. They nest on the ground in loose colonies. In

estuarine An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

settings, they may feed on exposed

bay mud Bay mud consists of thick deposits of soft, unconsolidated silty clay, which is saturated with water; these soil layers are situated at the bottom of certain estuaries, which are normally in temperate regions that have experienced cyclical glacia ...

s or

mudflat Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal fl ...

s. The pied avocet is the emblem of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Recurvirostra'' was introduced in 1758 by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the

10th edition 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

of his to contain a single species, the pied avocet, ''Recurvirostra avosetta''. The genus name combines the Latin meaning 'bent' or 'curved backwards' with meaning 'bill'.

Species

The genus contains four species. One fossil species, ''R. sanctaneboulae'' Mourer-Chauviré, 1978, dates from the late Eocene of France.

Range and habitat

In a large colony, they are aggressively defensive and chase off any other species of birds that try to nest among or near them. That causes the annoyed remark "''Avocet: Exocet'' from some British birdwatchers. They had been extirpated in Britain for a long time because of

land reclamation Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new land from oceans, seas, riverbeds or lake beds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamati ...

of their habitat and persecution by skin and

egg collector Oology (or oölogy) is a branch of ornithology studying bird eggs, nests and breeding behaviour. The word is derived from the Greek ''oion'', meaning egg. Oology can also refer to the hobby of collecting wild birds' eggs, sometimes called eg ...

s, but during or soon after World War II, they started breeding on reclaimed land near the Wash, which was returned to salt marsh to make difficulties for any landing German invaders. Avocets use

Titchfield Haven National Nature Reserve Titchfield Haven is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-west of Gosport in Hampshire. Most of it is a local nature reserve and a national nature reserve. It is part of Solent and Southampton Water Ramsar site and Special ...

as a summer breeding ground.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q286072 Recurvirostra Wading birds