Pied Avocet ( Recurvirostra avosetta, family: Recurvirostridae)

Birds & Birding in the Kruger National Park South Africa. In Roberts 6 this bird was called Avocet

pied avocet kruger national park birds The Pied Avocet (Latin name Recurvirostra avosetta) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 294 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 392 also a picture of the Pied Avocet on page 385. The Pied Avocet belongs to the family of birds classified as Recurvirostridae. According to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology the Pied Avocet is also known by these other names: Eurasian Avocet, Black-crowned Avocet.

In the previous edition of Roberts (ie 6th edition) the Pied Avocet was called the Avocet

The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. The basic information was provided by the Avian Demographic Unit based at UCT and I created the maps from that information ... the green dots show the locations of the various Kruger National Park Rest Camps

The Pied Avocet is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park. It is however a resident

In terms of distribution of the Pied Avocet in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Pied Avocet : see above distribution map.

Identification assistance for this avian species ...

The Pied Avocet is a bird about the size of a Francolin now called Spurfowl. The height of the Pied Avocet is about 45 cms and its weight is about 380 gms

The male and female Pied Avocet have the same plumage and colours

  • Head is black.
  • Eye is red.
  • Bill is black.
  • Throat is white.
  • Back is black, white.
  • Legs are blue, grey.

This bird has long legs.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The Pied Avocet feeds on the ground and in or close to water mainly

Invertebrates

Aquatic life forms

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The Pied Avocet takes on more than a single mate (it is bigamous).

The nesting habit of Pied Avocet is to create the nest on the ground. The bird lays eggs which are white in colour and number between 1 to 4

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for Pied Avocet are: grasslands

You can see Pied Avocet in flocks. The bird will often also be seen singly.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Unknown

Zulu ... Unknown

Afrikaans ...Bontelsie

German ... Sbelschnbler

Portuguese ... Alfaiate

French ... Avocette lgante

Dutch ... Kluut

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For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...

Robert's 7th edition number ... 294

The main reference source for this data was "Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition" . Other references were "Newmans Birds of the Kruger Park" by Keith Newman published circa 1980 . Names in foreign languages were obtained from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town website , www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za