| Line 2: | Line 2: | ||
[[Image:AmericanAvocet_mrcolin2u_SanElijoLagoon.jpg|thumb|450px|right|Photo by mrcolin2u<br />San Elijo Lagoon, San Diego County, [[California]], [[USA]]]] | [[Image:AmericanAvocet_mrcolin2u_SanElijoLagoon.jpg|thumb|450px|right|Photo by mrcolin2u<br />San Elijo Lagoon, San Diego County, [[California]], [[USA]]]] | ||
[[Image:American_Avocet.jpg|thumb|450px|right|Photo by Ron Conley<br />Photo taken: [[Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve]], Huntington Beach, [[California]], [[USA]]]] | [[Image:American_Avocet.jpg|thumb|450px|right|Photo by Ron Conley<br />Photo taken: [[Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve]], Huntington Beach, [[California]], [[USA]]]] | ||
| − | [[Image:280771DN 3717.jpg|thumb|400px|right|Photo by mw_aurora<br />Photo taken: [[ Rowley, MA]] | + | |
| + | [[Image:280771DN 3717.jpg|thumb|400px|right|Photo by mw_aurora<br />Photo taken: [[Rowley, MA]]]] | ||
==Identification== | ==Identification== | ||
Length 16-20" (41-51 cm) | Length 16-20" (41-51 cm) | ||
Revision as of 11:40, 22 July 2008
- Recurvirostra americana
Identification
Length 16-20" (41-51 cm)
- Large, long-legged
- Slender, upturned bill
- Upperparts and wings patterned in black and white
- Underparts white
- Head and neck rust-colored in summer, white in winter
Distribution
Breeds from interior Washington, Saskatchewan, and Minnesota south to Central Mexico. Winters on West Coast of USA north to California, on Gulf Coast, in Florida, southern Mexico, and Cuba. Rare but regular visitor on Atlantic Coast and the Great Lakes in fall. Irregular winter visitor to northern Central America.
Taxonomy
A monotypic species.
Habitat
Freshwater marshes and shallow marshy lakes; breeds locally in salt or brackish marshes. Many move to the coasts in winter.
Behavior
Nesting
4 olive-buff eggs, spotted with brown and black, in a shallow depression sparsely lined with grass on a beach or mudflat. Often nests in loose colonies.
Voice
A loud repeated wheep.
