Pied Avocet

Black, white and an upturned bill

An Avocet is black and white with long blue-grey legs and a thin bill that curves sharply upward.

It feeds by sweeping that bill from side to side through shallow water and soft mud, picking up small crustaceans, worms and insects. Groups often work their way forward together.

Avocets nest in colonies on bare islands and salt marshes and are surprisingly brave about it, chasing off birds much larger than themselves. A good share of the Western European population breeds in the Netherlands.