Latin name - Haematopus ostralegus

The Oystercatcher can be found all around the coast feeding on shellfish especially mussels, cockles and limpets though not, despite its common name, oysters. It has a powerful bill which it either uses to stab or to prise open shells, it will also eat earthworms which has allowed it to colonize further inland. Both sexes are similar in appearance being large wading birds (up to 45cm long with a wingspan up to 86cm) with black and white plumage and a distinctive long bright orange-red bill and pinkish-red legs. It has broad, white wing-bars and during the winter develop an extra white mark on their throats.