[Length 17.5 in. Wingspan 32 in.]

This American Oystercatcher in flight was photographed along the central New Jersey coast. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm ED f4.5 lens on Kodachrome 64 film. (Date: June 1977)

[Length 17.5 in. Wingspan 32 in.]

This American Oystercatcher in flight was photographed at Stone Harbor, New Jersey. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm EDAF f4.0 lens on Kodachrome 200 film. (Date: July 1988)

[Length 17.5 in. Wingspan 32 in.]

This American Oystercatcher was photographed at French Town Road, Port Bolivar, TX. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm EDAF-S VR f2.8 lens + Nikkor TC14E II 1.4x Teleconverter (EFL=630mm) on a Nikon D200 camera. (Date: April 30, 2008)

[Length 17.5 in. Wingspan 32 in.]

This American Oystercatcher was photographed at French Town Road, Port Bolivar, TX. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm EDAF-S VR f2.8 lens (EFL=450mm) on a Nikon D200 camera. (Date: May 6, 2008)

[Length 17.5 in. Wingspan 32 in.]

This American Oystercatcher was photographed at the Boca Chica beach, TX. Photo taken with a AF-S VR Nikkor 300mm f/2.8G IF-ED lens (EFL=450mm) on a Nikon D300 camera. (Date: May 4, 2009)

[Length 17.5 in. Wingspan 32 in.]

This American Oystercatcher in flight was photographed at Indian Point Park, Portland, TX. Photo taken with a AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED lens (EFL=210mm) on a Nikon D200 camera. (Date: August 27, 2009)

[Length 17.5 in. Wingspan 32 in.]

This American Oystercatcher was photographed at Indian Point Park, Corpus Christi, TX. Photo taken with a AF-S VR Nikkor 300mm f/2.8G IF-ED lens + Nikkor TC20E II 2.0x Teleconverter (EFL=900mm) on a Nikon D300 camera. (Date: August 29, 2009)

[Length 17.5 in. Wingspan 32 in.]

The Black Oystercatcher is a medium sized shorebird which is a resident of rocky coasts in North America from the Aleutian Islands to Baja California. It is quite distinctive with its dark, brownish black body, pinkish legs, and bright red, knifelike bill. It uses its bill to first pry shellfish and other prey from the rocks, and then to chisel them apart to get at the soft inner contents. This Black Oystercatcher was photographed along the rocky shore in Monterey, California. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm ED f4.5 lens on Kodachrome 64 film. (Date: November 1981)