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Revision as of 04:08, 5 November 2009

Haematopus fuliginosus

Photo by Brian Egan
Location: Cape Leeuwin, Western Australia

Identification

Black, red eye, eye ring and bill, and pink legs. Young birds are duller and browner.

Distribution

Coasts and islands of Australia and Tasmania.

Taxonomy

Two subspecies are recognized:^[1]

• H. f. opthalmicus - Coasts and islands of n Australia (Shark Bay to Lady Elliot I.)
• H. f. fuliginosus - Coasts and islands of s Australia (n to Brisbane); Tasmania

Habitat

Rocky coastlines and sometimes estuaries.

Behaviour

It breeds in colonies on offshore islands and isolated rocky headlands. Both parents incubate the eggs and care for the young. They nest in a scrape on the ground among pebbles or shells on rocky shores or cliffs.

The diet includes molluscs, crabs and crustaceans, marine worms, starfish, sea urchins, and small fish. It uses its long bill to stab at prey or to lever open food items. It drinks seawater.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2007. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019

• List of references

External Links

• View more images of this species on the ABID