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9

South Island Oystercatcher (Haematopus finschi) Alternate name(s): "South Island Pied Oystercatcher", "Finsch's Oystercatcher" Size: 44-48 cm; wing span 80-86 cm Weight: 550 g (average)

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Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description South Island Oystercatchers are medium-sized shorebirds. They have all black-and-white plumage. Head, neck and upperparts (mantle, wings and uppertail) are black, while the underparts (chest, belly, vent and underwing coverts) are white. The eye-rings and bill are bright red, while the legs and feet are pink. Juvenile South Island Oystercatchers have mottled grey-brownish to black upperparts. Twitcher's tip South Island Oystercatchers have a comparatively longer bill and shorter, stouter legs than Australian Pied Oystercatchers. The correct identification of waders ("shorebirds"), e.g. of the Calidris, Tringa, Actitis and related families or of the Charadrius, Pluvialis and related genera in the field can be quite tricky. We have therefore made an attempt to give some advice HERE.

Taxonomy, classification See South Island Oystercatcher at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the South Island Oystercatcher is available HERE . South Island Oystercatchers are mostly endemic to New Zealand and only occasionally migrate long-distance. They breed on New Zealand's South Island and disperse to the North Island outside the breeding season. In Australia, South Island Oystercatchers are occasionally found as vagrants on Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island and rarely along the continental Australian East coast, from about Sydney, NSW, in the South, to Brisbane, QLD, in the North. South Island Oystercatchers breed on braided inland river beds, fallow fields and pasture in New Zealand's South Island. Outside the breeding season they move to sandy beaches and spits, primarily on the North Island.

Sightings Click here for sighting information B. Hensen reports spotting South Island Oystercatchers at Moseley Park Swamp, Lord Howe Island, in November 2014. All photographic and sighting information presented on this page has kindly been contributed by B. Hensen.

Photos

ADULT

Sex unknown

Lateral view of a South Island Oystercatcher; note the characteristic long, orange bill (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Moseley Park Swamp, Lord Howe Island, November 2014]

Lateral view of a South Island Oystercatcher being hassled by a Magpie-lark (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Moseley Park Swamp, Lord Howe Island, November 2014]

Near-dorsal view of the same South Island Oystercatcher as above; during take-off one can see the distinctive broad white wing band, with inner secondaries white to the edge (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Moseley Park Swamp, Lord Howe Island, November 2014]

Comparison Australian Pied Oystercatcher vs. South Island Pied Oystercatcher

Direct comparison between a FEMALE Australian Pied Oystercatcher, top, and a South Island Oystercatcher, bottom - note the latter's more slender and longer bill
(photos courtesy of M. Eaton, top, and B. Hensen, bottom)

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Tue, 12 May 2020, 4:23 +00:00