A black-and-white bird of Australia’s coast, the Pied Oystercatcher has a long red bill and legs and feeds on shellfish on beaches and mudflats.
It has black-and-white plumage, an orange-red bill, eye-rings and legs, and red eyes.
On beaches and mudflats it pries open bivalves; it also eats worms, crustaceans, and insects.
It nests on sand, shell grit, or shingle just above the high-water mark. It lays 2–3 eggs, and both sexes share parenting duties.
It finds food by sight or by probing mud. Its bill cuts the muscles holding a bivalve shut so it can open the shell and eat the animal inside. Parents also feed their chicks.
Young birds are browner than adults and lack their intense orange-red colours on the bill and legs.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.