Waterbird Wednesday week 12 - Pied Avocet
The Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta) can be seen all year round in the UK, with a breeding population of 1'500 pairs and a wintering population of 7'500 birds. They are very distinctive, with a black and white pattern and unique upturned beak. After disappearing from the UK, Pied Avocets returned in the 1940s and have since increased in number. They feed on water invertebrates, using their upturned bill to search for food.
Identification
The Pied Avocet is a distinctively patterned wader, with a mainly white plumage. In all plumages has a dark head and neck, dark wingtips, a dark wingbar and a dark line on it's side (where the back meets the wing). Has a distinctive thin, upturned bill and very long blue legs - appears very graceful.
Adult
As described above with all dark markings black. Bill long and fully grown.
Juvenile
Appearance depends on how developed the individual bird is. Young birds have shorter bills than adults. The dark markings are brown and much messier.
