Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta   [Linnaeus, 1758]

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   Page updated:16-January-2013

Order: Charadriiformes Family: Recurvirostridae
BTO Codes: AV, AVOCE EURING No: 4560
Number in Britain: 1500 pairs (Summer)
Conservation Status:
UK: AMBER
European: Not a species of concern
Global: (Details)
Links to: Images   Videos   Sound  
Status in UK: (A)  Migrant/Resident Breeder, Passage/Winter Visitor
Subspecies: Monotypic
.
Length: 44 cm Wingspan: 78 cm Weight: M/F: 280 g    
Scientific name from: L.: recurvus=bent back + rostris=bill and Venetian name for Avocet
World Distribution: BREEDS Europe, c Asia, WINTERS to s Africa & s Asia
Habitat: Mudflats, lagoons, sandy beaches
Diet: Invertebrates, especially insects, crustaceans, worms; sweeps bill from side to side, prey located by touch
TitBit: The Avocet colonised Britain when coastal marshes in East Anglia were flooded to provide a defence against possible invasion by the Germans.  

Population and Distribution

Population Trend: No population trend available
Distribution: Atlas Maps   
British Population Size:
    Summer: 1492 pairs in 2005-09
    Winter: 7500 individuals in 2004-09
    Passage: 1700 individuals
    First Record: 1666
    First Breeding Record: Suffolk (after extinct 1893) 1941
    Latest Survey: Holling, M. & RBBP (2011) British Birds 104:476-537
    Conservation Status: AMBER because Localised Breeding Population, Localised Non-breeding Population,
   Previous Assessments: 2002-2007 AMBER     1996-2001 AMBER  
   Races of Concern:
Habitat Occupancy (in the Breeding Season):
    No habitat data from BBS
Migration routes: Map of foreign ringing recoveries
European Population Size:
    Summer: 37 to 54 thousand pairs
Population Assesment from Birds in Europe
Distribution in Europe mapped by the EBCC Atlas
Listed on the Appendices/Schedules of: WCA(I), WBD(I), Bern(III), Bonn(II), AEWA
Survey Results: Results from BirdTrack

Breeding and Survival

Egg Size: 50 x 35 mm Egg Weight: 31.7 g (of which 6 % is shell)
Number of Nest Records: 23
Clutch Size: 3 - 4 eggs
Incubation: 23- 25 days   by the: Male + Female
Fledging: 35 - 42days as: Precocial, downy
First Clutches Laid: Unavailable
Number of Broods: 1
Number Ringed: Annual Totals
Adult Survival: 0.780 ± 0.050       
Juvenile Survival: 0.410 (in First-Year)  
Age at First Breeding: Typical Lifespan: No data
Maximum Recorded Age: 16 years 1 months 19 days (set in 1987)
Read a summary of Ringing Recoveries

Biometrics

Ring Size: E
Wing Length Adult: Insufficient Data
Juvenile: Insufficient Data
Male: Insufficient Data
Female: Insufficient Data
Weight Adult: Insufficient Data
Juvenile: Insufficient Data
Male: Insufficient Data
Female: Insufficient Data
Seasonal: Autumn 331.3 ± 32.71 (N = 20)   Winter 359.1 ± 34.10 (N = 12)  

Other Names

Pied Avocet
Gaelic: Gob-ceàrr Welsh: Cambig
Danish: Klyde Dutch: Kluut
Finnish: Avosetti French: Avocette élégante
German: Säbelschnäbler Hungarian: Gulipán
Icelandic: Bjúgnefja Irish: Abhóiséad
Italian: Avocetta Norwegian: Avosett
Polish: Szablodziób zwyczajny Portuguese: Alfaiate
Spanish: Avoceta Swedish: Skärfläcka

For More Information...

Books and Monographs:
   IWSG 2005 Avocets breeding in Western Europe: IWSG Workshop 27 September 1999 Wader Study Group Bulletin 107:57-112
   Hill, D. 1989 The Avocet Shire Publications, Princes Risborough [Jour, S.]
See Also:
Find scientific papers on Google Scholar or Scirus by clicking the icon
Wikipedia entry
BirdLife species page
Recent sightings and information from BirdGuides
Read State of the Nations Birds by Chris Mead