The black and white plumage of this medium-size shore bird is distinctive. A closer inspection will show long, blue legs, a thin, upturned bill and in breeding plumage, a rusty neck and head with white before the eye. In winter, the rusty markings are replaced by a gray wash. European birds lack the colorful neck and head markings, but show the black and white pattern and often are called Awl-birds. The bill gives the clue to such a name.
The Avocet feeds by wading in shallow water and swinging his bill back and forth; flocks often advance and feed in unison. These birds also are capable swimmers and have been observed while feeding like puddle ducks, tipping up and extending their heads far under water in search of insects and small crustacea.
Avocets formerly nested as far east as New Jersey but now favor the shores of ponds, lakes and sloughs in the western areas. Sun-dried mud or alkaline flats often bring loose colonies of these birds, anywhere from Southern Texas to Alberta and British Columbia. When disturbed, they circle overhead, utter a series of yelping calls or feign a broken wing in order to lure you away from their nesting sites.
The upturned beak,
The legs so blue,
The black and white
All point to you.
Wilson’s Phalarope
Steganopus tricolor
