Pied Avocet
Recurvirostra avosetta
- Family
- Stilts and Avocets (Recurvirostridae)
- Order
- Charadriiformes
Overview
The pied avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta) is a species of wader in the Recurvirostridae family, the only member of the avocet genus Recurvirostra found in Europe, Africa, and Asia.
This characteristic wader of coastal lagoons and marshes is easily recognisable by its long, upturned bill, long legs, and striking black-and-white plumage. Measuring approximately 40 cm (16 in) in length with a wingspan of about 70 cm (28 in), it is a relatively large species that feeds on various invertebrates in water and mudflats, captured using its distinctive bill. It typically nests in colonies of 10 to 70 pairs on islets or dikes near water, laying usually four eggs in a simple, shallow scrape in the sand.
Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Range and habitat
Breeds locally southern and central Europe eastward to northeastern Russia and China southward through Middle East to northwestern India; also eastern and southern Africa; winters to coastal northern Africa, inland western Africa, Indian Peninsula including Sri Lanka, and to eastern China.
Range description: AviList Global Avian Checklist.
Countries
- Afghanistan
- Albania
- Algeria
- Angola
- Armenia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Bahrain
- Bangladesh
- Benin
- Bhutan
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Botswana
- Bulgaria
- Burkina Faso
- Cameroon
- Cape Verde
- Chad
- China
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czechia
- Denmark
- Djibouti
- Egypt
- Equatorial Guinea
- Estonia
- Ethiopia
- Finland
- France
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Georgia
- Germany
- Ghana
- Greece
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Hungary
- India
- Iran
- Iraq
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Kenya
- Kosovo
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan
- Latvia
- Lebanon
- Libya
- Luxembourg
- Malawi
- Mali
- Malta
- Mauritania
- Moldova
- Mongolia
- Montenegro
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- Myanmar
- Namibia
- Nepal
- Netherlands
- Niger
- Nigeria
- Norway
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Palestine
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Russia
- Saudi Arabia
- Senegal
- Serbia
- Sierra Leone
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Somalia
- South Africa
- South Sudan
- Spain
- Sri Lanka
- Sudan
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Syria
- Taiwan
- Tanzania
- Tunisia
- Turkey
- Turkmenistan
- Uganda
- Ukraine
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom
- Uzbekistan
- Western Sahara
- Yemen
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
Sources and further reading
- Wikipedia: Pied avocet
- eBird: sightings, maps and photos
- xeno-canto: sound recordings
- Birds of the World: full species account (subscription)
- BirdLife DataZone: status and threats
- IUCN Red List (threat status)
- AviList global checklist (taxonomy)
Last updated September 29, 2026.