Pied Avocet
Photo: Andreas Trepte · CC BY-SA 2.5

Stilts and Avocets

Pied Avocet

Recurvirostra avosetta

LCLeast Concern
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.

Sources and further reading

Last updated September 29, 2026.