Pied Oystercatcher
Also known as Eurasion Oystercatcher is one of the largest waders in the region. It is 40–45 centimetres (16–18 in) long (bill 8–9 cm) with a wing-span 80–85 centimetres (31–33 in). They are obvious and noisy plover-like birds, with black and white plumage, red legs and strong broad red bills used for smashing or prising open molluscs such as mussels or for finding earthworms. Despite its name, oysters do not form a large part of its diet. The bird still lives up to its name, as few if any other wading birds are capable of opening oysters at all.
The bill shape varies; oystercatchers with broad bill tips open molluscs by prising them apart or hammering through the shell, whereas pointed-bill birds dig up worms. Much of this is due to the wear resulting from feeding on the prey. Individual birds specialise in one technique or the other which they learn from their parents.
The Oystercatcher has yet to be recorded within Indonesia, although a single record from Sarawak (Malaysian Borneo; Yeap Chin Aik ) in 2006 suggests it is a potential vagrant. No sighting record in Peninsula as yet that I know of. Hopefully we will see one in our lifetime. This one was sighted in Australia.
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