---
title: "American Oystercatcher"
description: "Haematopus palliatus — Birds. The American oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus), occasionally called the American pied oystercatcher, is a member of family Haematopodidae."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/american-oystercatcher
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# American Oystercatcher

> Haematopus palliatus — Birds. The American oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus), occasionally called the American pied oystercatcher, is a member of family Haematopodidae.

- Scientific name: *Haematopus palliatus*
- Category: `birds` (Birds)
- Habitats: `sea` (Sea & coast)
- iNaturalist observations: 26308
- Wikidata: [Q692644](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q692644)
- iNaturalist taxon: [4840](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/4840)

## Names

- en: American Oystercatcher
- de: Braunmantel-Austernfischer
- es: Ostrero Americano
- fr: Huîtrier d'Amérique
- nl: Amerikaanse bonte scholekster
- pt: Pirupiru
- pl: Ostrygojad brunatny

## Countries with the most observations

US (14192), MX (2474), CL (2224), EC (1229), AR (1170), BR (1123), PE (1100), UY (465), PR (385), CR (194), PA (153), BS (57)

## Summary

The American oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus), occasionally called the American pied oystercatcher, is a member of family Haematopodidae. Originally called the "sea pie", it was renamed in 1731 when naturalist Mark Catesby claimed that he had observed the bird eating oysters. The current population of American oystercatchers is estimated to be 50,000 – 99,999 mature individuals. There are estimated to be 1,500 breeding pairs along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the US. The bird is marked by its black and white body and a long, thick orange beak.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_oystercatcher

## Photo

![American Oystercatcher](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/american-oystercatcher/medium.jpg)

Photo: steve b · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/155430976

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/american-oystercatcher?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).