The African Oystercatcher is a black shorebird of southern Africa's coasts, with a bright orange-red bill and pink legs.
Its plumage is black, with pink legs, an orange-red bill, and red eyes. Females are larger and have longer bills than males.
It searches for mussels, limpets, and other shore animals in the intertidal zone at low tide. It nests in shallow scrapes on sandy or rocky coasts.
It lays 1–2 eggs, rarely 3, and both parents incubate for about 32 days. Chicks depend on their parents for food and shelter.
It is active by day or night according to when the tide exposes its feeding grounds. Chicks can swim and may dive to escape danger.
Chicks have grey down with black stripes behind the eyes and along the crown. Juvenile plumage is duller than that of adults.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.