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Variable Oystercatcher
Haematopus unicolor Forster, JR, 1844
Haematopodidae — Oystercatchers
Variable Oystercatcher, Haematopus unicolor, breeds on the coasts of New Zealand, including the North, South and Stewart Islands. It is a member of the Haematopodidae family and is endemic to the country. Its plumage varies from pied to fully black, with mottled birds also occurring. Stewart Island birds are all black. It has pink legs, an orange eye ring and an orange-red bill that becomes deeper red in the breeding season. It is slightly larger than the South Island pied oystercatcher, and females are a little bigger than males.
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Haematopodidae — Oystercatchers
- Breeding range
- Australasia: coastal North, South and Stewart is. (New Zealand)
