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Avocet landing in water

Avocet

Avocets are famous as the RSPB's emblem and are a remarkable conservation story. They came back from the brink of extinction in Britain in the mid-19th century, and recolonised the beaches of East Anglia that were closed during the war. Avocets are elegant wading birds with long upturned beaks that sift invertebrates from the water. Their black and white plumage is not their only striking feature, they also have long blue legs that dangle well behind the tail during flight. The young are quick off the mark after hatching, running and feeding within hours - handy when your nest is just a scrape in the mud.

Scientific name: Recurvirostra avosetta

Rank: Species

Common names:

Pied avocet

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Distribution

The Avocet can be found in a number of locations including: Africa, Asia, China, Europe, Mediterranean, Russia, United Kingdom, Wales. Find out more about these places and what else lives there.

Habitats

The following habitats are found across the Avocet distribution range. Find out more about these environments, what it takes to live there and what else inhabits them.

Behaviours

Discover what these behaviours are and how different plants and animals use them.

Additional data source: Animal Diversity Web

About

The Pied Avocet, Recurvirostra avosetta, is a large black and white wader in the avocet and stilt family, Recurvirostridae. They breed in temperate Europe and western and Central Asia. It is a migratory species and most winter in Africa or southern Asia. Some remain to winter in the mildest parts of their range, for example in southern Spain and southern England.

This species gets its English and scientific names from the Venetian name avosetta. It appeared first in Aldrovandi's Ornithologia (1603). While the name may refer to black and white outfits once worn by European advocates or lawyers, the actual etymology is unknown. Other common names include Black-capped Avocet, Eurasian Avocet or just Avocet.

The Pied Avocet is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.

Read more at Wikipedia

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Classification

  1. Life
  2. Animals
  3. Vertebrates
  4. Birds
  5. Shorebirds
  6. Recurcirostridae
  7. Recurvirostra
  8. Avocet

Characters we've followed

  • The Pensthorpe avocets The Pensthorpe Avocets

    In 2010 Springwatch followed a breeding pair of avocets as they tried to incubate their two eggs.

Video collections

Take a trip through the natural world with our themed collections of video clips from the natural history archive.

  • Wild autumn Wild autumn

    Autumn - a time of great change, of breathtaking migrations, of high drama.

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