Eurasian oystercatcher
Haematopus ostralegus
Rafael Rosa · Tromsø
Key facts in one look
- Size
- 40–45 cm, wingspan 80–85 cm
- Diet
- Molluscs, worms, crustaceans, insect larvae
- Status in Georgia
- Migrant, occasional breeder
- Recorded regions
- Kvemo Kartli, Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti
- Habitat
- Sea coasts, river and lake shores, farmland
- Family
- Haematopodidae
- Conservation
- Global NT (2019); Georgia NT (2024)
The Eurasian oystercatcher has a long, straight, orange-red bill that it uses to smash or prise open shells. With its black-and-white plumage, red eyes and short pinkish legs, it is hard to mistake for any other bird. It is 40–45 cm long with a wingspan of 80–85 cm, one of the largest waders in its range. It lives a long time: a bird ringed in England in 1982 was caught again in 2025, which made it at least 46 years old. It is harmless to people. The 2024 Georgian checklist lists it as a migrant and an occasional breeder. There are still few records in Georgia: 35 from 2022–2026, between March and September, more than half of them in April. Most come from Gardabani Municipality, and most of the rest from the Black Sea coast, from Poti to Batumi. Both globally and in Georgia it is rated Near Threatened (NT).
Identification
Eurasian oystercatcher: how to identify it
It is black above and white below, with a long orange-red bill and pinkish legs. In flight it shows white patches on the wings and tail, while the rest of the upperparts are black. Its loud, sharp piping makes it easy to notice.
The head, breast and back are black, the belly white. The bill is 8–9 cm long, straight and orange-red, the eyes are red, and the legs are short and dull pink. In winter a white collar appears on the throat, briefly in adults and for longer in young birds. Young birds are browner, with a white collar and a duller bill.
It is 40–45 cm long, with a wingspan of 80–85 cm. The sexes look alike, but the female has a longer bill than the male. Bill length increases gradually from west to east, and eastern birds are slightly brownish above.
The black-winged stilt is also black and white, but it has very long red legs and a thin black bill. The oystercatcher has short legs and a thick orange-red bill, so the two are hard to confuse. The call is a loud, sharp piping that carries a long way.
Colour
Swatches are illustrative. Do not identify a species by colour alone.
Often confused with
It breeds on sea coasts: in saltmarshes, on sand and shingle beaches, dunes and rocky shores. Inland it breeds on the shores of lakes, reservoirs and rivers, and sometimes away from water, on farmland and hay meadows. It usually lives on lowland plains below 200 m with short vegetation and water nearby. After breeding it moves mainly to the coast: to estuarine mudflats, saltmarshes and sandy and rocky shores. In Georgia most records come from Kvemo Kartli, from Gardabani Municipality south-east of Tbilisi, near Ponichala: from March to July, most often in April. On the Black Sea coast it is seen in Samegrelo, at Poti and Maltakva, in April and May. Elsewhere it has been seen only a few times: at Batumi, near Lanchkhuti and once at Nadarbazevi Lake.
The Eurasian oystercatcher map combines public iNaturalist observations. Regions are taken from the records-by-region table, and the status column separates regions with enough records from regions with too few records. Record counts reflect observation effort rather than population density. Two regions have enough records: Kvemo Kartli and Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti.
Data: Reptiles.ge + iNaturalist · Methodology
- Field observation
- Several records in one spot
- Photo record
- Region with records
Despite its name, oysters are not a large part of its diet, although few other waders are able to open an oyster. On soft intertidal ground it eats mainly bivalves and snails; in estuaries worms and crustaceans matter more. On rocky shores it takes mussels, whelks and other molluscs. Inland it looks for earthworms and insect larvae such as caterpillars. It opens shells in different ways. Birds with broad bill tips prise molluscs open or hammer through the shell, while pointed-billed birds dig up worms. The bill shape is largely the result of wear from the food. Each bird uses one technique, which it learns from its parents.
It is migratory over most of its range: birds that breed inland move to the coast for the winter. It is highly sociable outside the breeding season. In winter it feeds alone or in groups of up to 10 birds, and gathers in large flocks in big bays and estuaries and at roosts. In Georgia it is seen most often in spring, in April. It breeds from April to July, in single pairs or small groups. Pairs usually stay together for many years. It first breeds at 3–5 years of age. The nest is a scrape on the ground, often on a raised spot. The female lays 2–4 yellowish, dark-blotched eggs, which both parents incubate for 24–27 days. The chicks leave the nest after 1–2 days, but both parents feed them. It raises one brood a year. It defends the nest fiercely: it attacks flying predators such as ravens in the air, and leads threats on the ground away from the nest by calling and sometimes by feigning injury.
Globally the Eurasian oystercatcher is rated Near Threatened (NT, 2019). Its numbers are falling: there are about 925,000–1,030,000 birds, or about 617,000–687,000 adults, and the population has fallen by 20–29% over three generations, about 41 years. The most numerous subspecies, in western Europe, grew strongly from the 1960s to the 1990s and has since fallen by more than 40% over three generations. The subspecies that breeds around the Black and Caspian Seas is stable. The main threat is the overfishing of shellfish, which makes intertidal mussel and cockle beds disappear. Coastal development, pollution, disturbance, ports, oil extraction and oil spills, wind farms and reduced river flows also harm it. Intensive farming, frequent mowing and high numbers of livestock destroy nests, eggs and chicks, and fertilisers and pesticides reduce soil invertebrates. It is hunted in France. Sea level rise and droughts reduce its habitat. The 2024 Georgian checklist also rates it Near Threatened (NT) in Georgia.
Aleksey Levashkin · Rafael Rosa · David Kaliss · birdyday · stercorarius · Natalia Melnikova · Nikita Tiunov
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Yes. The 2024 Georgian checklist lists it as a migrant and an occasional breeder. There are still few records: 35 from 2022–2026, between March and September, more than half of them in April.
Most records come from Gardabani Municipality, south-east of Tbilisi, near Ponichala. On the Black Sea coast it is seen at Poti and Maltakva. It has been seen a few times at Batumi and once at Nadarbazevi Lake. Look for it at the water's edge in spring.
It is black above and white below, with a long, straight orange-red bill, red eyes and short pinkish legs. In flight it shows white patches on the wings and tail. The black-winged stilt is also black and white, but it has very long red legs and a thin black bill.
It is 40–45 cm long, including a bill of 8–9 cm, with a wingspan of 80–85 cm. It is one of the largest waders in its range. The female has a longer bill than the male.
Only a few. Its main food is other bivalves and snails, worms and crustaceans in estuaries, and earthworms and insect larvae inland. Still, few other waders are able to open an oyster.
A long time. An adult ringed in England in 1982 was caught again in 2025, 43 years later, which made it at least 46 years old. It first breeds at 3–5 years of age.
It is harmless to people. Both globally and in Georgia it is rated Near Threatened (NT), because its numbers are falling. The main threats are the overfishing of shellfish and coastal development. If you find an injured bird, call 112 or the environmental protection service.
References
What this profile is based on
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
Prepared by the Reptiles.ge editorial team from the sources listed here.
