Scientific Name:
Recurvirostra avosetta
Common Name:
Avocet
Family:
Avocets and stilts Recurvirostridae
Summary:
The Avocet is a scarce wading bird. It is large and has very long blue-grey legs. It is pure white apart from black stripes on the wing and back and a black patch over the cap that runs down the back of the neck. The bill is black, very long and turns upwards. It flies with its long legs trailing behind.
Ecology:
Avocets gather in flocks to feed in the silty margins of estuaries and marshland on invertebrates such as shellfish and worms. Avocets breed in colonies. Most Avocets leave North-western Europe in winter, but small numbers stay, especially during mild winters.
Habitat:
Marshland, estuaries.
Distribution:
Localaised. Coast of East and South England
Size:
42cm