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Project Noah Nature School
Haematopus unicolor
Endemic oystercatcher to New Zealand. It has 3 colour morphs to really confuse things. The individuals here are dark morph being completely black plumage with bright orange bill and eye-ring and pink legs. There is also a pied morph and an intermediate morph. They are quite a large oystercatcher measuring 47-49cm in length and weighing in at just over 700gms.
Found all around the New Zealand coast line including Stewart Island. These birds were roosting up near the high water mark.
Its interesting to note that the colour morphs tend to be related to geographic distribution. Black birds are less common in the north and central North Island (approx 43%) and far more common in the South and Stewart Islands (85-94% of the population).
Spotted on Apr 27, 2013
Submitted on Feb 21, 2016
4 Comments
Thank you Ashley. These Variables can often be very engaging.
Awesome shots! I LOVE oystercatchers
Very similar Mark. Between the various black oystercatchers around the place and then the various pied ones it can all be a bit of a puzzle! ;)
Looks very like our Sooty