Creature Feature #559: Oystercatcher

Just as Oxpeckers do not only peck oxen (given oxen is a term given to a neutered bull cattle), Oystercatchers do not feed exclusively on oysters.

The Oystercatchers are a Family of very similar wading birds with a cosmopolitan distribution. This fellow is a European Oystercatcher, characterised by the white chin-stripe. All species are either piebald or pure black (in various shades). With their stocky body and long bill, the Oystercatcher stalks the coastal regions, and open pastures, foraging predominantly on invertebrates such as crabs, annelids and insect larvae. They are also one of the few animals capable of opening oysters - hence the name. The bill shape varies between (and within) species, with some having finer tipped bills for digging up worms, and broader tipped bills for cracking open shellfish. 

And that, my friends, is the final O animal. Tomorrow we begin the Ps.