Pied Avocet

Latin Name:

Recurvirostra avosetta

Category:

Size:

45cm

Description:

Sexes alike. Black and white plumage, long, bluish legs and long, slender upcurved beak diagnostic. In flight, the long legs extend much beyond the tail. Usually gregarious, only sometimes 2 to 3 birds scattered over waterbody; frequently enters shallow water; characteristic sideways movement of head when
feeding, the head bent low as upcurved beak sweeps along bottom mud; also swims and up-ends, duck-like.

Habitat:

freshwater marshes, coastal tidal areas, creeks.

Food:

aquatic insects, minute molluscs, crustaceans.

Distribution:

breeds in Kutch, N Balochistan; winter visitor, sporadically over most parts of area, most common in NW regions.

The elegant Pied Avocet is now a fairly common and widespread winter visitor throughout our area with small numbers over-summering. Our wintering birds breed in southern Central Asia but the species also occurs in Europe and Africa. The first returning birds are seen in August with peak passage in September and October.

Avocets need fairly deep water to feed in, as they often wade up to their bellies and even swim. They are also regular on larger, more open village ponds. Since they feed by sweeping their recurved bills through the water surface, they avoid vegetated areas which would impede this feeding method. There can be few more delightful sights than a flock in close formation feeding hurriedly through a village pond, or a yelping flock flashing through a blue winter sky over a flooded field

Call:

Call Description:

loud, somewhat fluty klooeet or kloeep call, mostly on wing; also some harsh, screaming notes.

IUCN:

Least Concern

At IITK:

Vagrant or irregular visitor

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Pied Avocet