American Avocet

The American Avocet, Recurvirostra americana, is a large wader in the avocet and stilt family, Recurvirostridae.

Adults have long legs, a rust head and neck, a long up-turned bill and a white lower body with a distinctive black and white pattern on the wing and back.

Their breeding habitat is marshes, prairie ponds, and shallow lakes in the mid-west and on the Pacific coast of North America. They nest on open ground, often in small groups, sometimes with other waders.

They are migratory and most winter on the southern Atlantic and Pacific coasts of Mexico and the United States.

These birds forage in shallow water or on mud flats, often sweeping their bills from side to side in water. They mainly eat crustaceans and insects.