Avocet
Order: Charadriiformes Family: Recurvirostridae Genus & Species: Recurvirostra avosetta
Following a very successful campaign early in the twentieth century to protect the avocet in Europe, this bird was adopted as the symbol of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, one of the largest conservation organisations in the world.
| Habitat The Eurasian avocet inhabits coastal estuaries and lagoons, as well as inland lakes and marshes. It needs shallow expanses of water with loose muddy sediments rich in microscopic aquatic organisms to feed on. The avocet most often lives in saltwater havitats where surface vegetation is limited by the salty conditions, and so is commonly found where there is bare, muddy conditions. |
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| In Afganistan, the avocet can be found at altitudes of over 3000m, on salty mountain lakes. It can fly long distances to take advantage of localised rains, when temmporary food abundances appear, and can adapt to man made habitats, such as commercial salt pans. |
Behaviour
When nesting, the avocet can become quite aggressive towards prospective nest
robbers such as gulls, crows and birds of prey. It stands up from the nest,
stretching to its full height, then charges with its wings held wide open.
With larger, more formidable intruders, it will feign injury and move from the
nest in an attempt to lure the intruder away from the nest.
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Feeding The avocet feeds mainly on the tiny organisms, found at the bottom of still water. It feeds by stretching its neck forward and its bill held just under the water or soft mud. With the curved section of its bill held slightly open, it sweeps its head from side to side in a scything motion, filtering out the tiny aquatic organisms as the water or mud passes across the mandibles. |
| In deeper water the avocet can swim on the surface and up-end like a
duck to feed from the bottom. Avocets may also feed by sight. It wades forward looking for food in the water and then dashes forward with an open bill and snatches any small prey it spots. |
Breeding Avocets usually nest on bare ground near water. They build a nest by scraping a hollow in the ground and line it with grass stems. Nests are placed from 5 to 30m apart. They lay three or four eggs which are mottled and blotched with black, brown and grey spots, which helps to camouflage them. The chicks are immediately active on hatching and the parent can lead them away from the nest. Although the chicks are able to feed themselves, they usually stay in a family group until they fledge at around six weeks. |
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