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American Avocets Are Beautiful Migratory Waders


The American Avocet, Recurvirostra americana, is a remarkable bird because of its cinnamon colored head and neck; its contrasting black and white upper parts;  its long, thin, bill that is recurved near the tip; and its long blue legs built for wading. The bird pictured here has been wading in a temporary wetland called a playa lake.

These birds migrate throughout most of Texas on their way north in the spring to breeding grounds throughout the northern plains and into central Canada. They also breed in parts of the Pacific Northwest. I am lucky enough to live in West Texas where these fellows linger long enough to breed when we have playas with water in them.

The last picture shows an avocet standing on one leg while he takes a break from hunting the water bugs and other invertebrates he feeds upon. These long legged wading birds prefer shallow, freshwater or salt water wetlands wherever they can find them in their range. At the end of summer, they fly south to Mexico to spend the winter.

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Filed Under: birds, Vertebrates Tagged With: American Avocet, Recurvirostra americana, Recurvirostridae

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