American oystercatcher

Haematopus palliatus

The American oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) is a bird found in United States and Chile. Beaches and salt marshes along American coasts. It eats insects and other small invertebrates. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

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Scientific name	Haematopus palliatus
Region	North America
Found in	United States and Chile

🏡 Where the American oystercatcher lives

Beaches and salt marshes along American coasts.

🍽️ What it eats

🐛 Insects & bugs100%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

LCNTVUENCREWEX

Least ConcernThere are plenty of these birds.

💡 Its strong orange bill is built to pry open oysters.

Hear the American oystercatcher

Recorded by William Whitehead (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC573224. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the American oystercatcher

Where does the American oystercatcher live?

The American oystercatcher lives in United States and Chile. Beaches and salt marshes along American coasts.

What does the American oystercatcher eat?

insects and other small invertebrates (about 100%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the American oystercatcher endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from North America

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.