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Added to the description, added a "Threats" section under "Behavior and ecology", and added a "In culture" section with a description of John James Audubon's writings on the American avocet and an associated picture.
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==Description==
==Description==
The American avocet measures {{convert|40|-|51|cm|in|abbr=on}} in length, has a wingsand of {{convert|68|-|76|cm|in|abbr=on}} and weighs {{convert|275|-|420|g|oz|abbr=on}}<ref name=Cornell>{{cite web |url=http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/american_Avocet/lifehistory |title=American Avocet, Identification|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |website=allaboutbirds.org |publisher=The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.seaworld.org/animal-info/animal-bytes/animalia/eumetazoa/coelomates/deuterostomes/chordata/craniata/aves/charadriiformes/american-avocet.htm |title=American Avocet|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |website=seaworld.org |publisher=SeaWorld}}</ref> It has long, thin, gray legs, giving it its colloquial name, blue shanks. The plumage is black and white on the back with white on the underbelly. The neck and head are cinnamon colored in the summer and gray in the winter. The long, thin bill is upturned at the end. <ref name=Cornell/>
The American avocet measures {{convert|40|-|51|cm|in|abbr=on}} in length, has a wingsand of {{convert|68|-|76|cm|in|abbr=on}} and weighs {{convert|275|-|420|g|oz|abbr=on}}<ref name=Cornell>{{cite web |url=http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/american_Avocet/lifehistory |title=American Avocet, Identification|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |website=allaboutbirds.org |publisher=The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.seaworld.org/animal-info/animal-bytes/animalia/eumetazoa/coelomates/deuterostomes/chordata/craniata/aves/charadriiformes/american-avocet.htm |title=American Avocet|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |website=seaworld.org |publisher=SeaWorld}}</ref> The bill is black, pointed, and curved slightly upwards towards the tip. It is long, surpassing twice the length of the avocet's small, rounded head. Like many waders, the avocet has long, slender legs and slightly webbed feet.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=The birds of America : from drawings made in the United States and their territories|last=Audubon|first=John James|publisher=|year=1861|isbn=|volume=6|location=New York|pages=24-30}}</ref> The legs are a pastel grey-blue, giving it its colloquial name, blue shanks. The plumage is black and white on the back with white on the underbelly. During the breeding season, the plumage is brassy orange on the head and neck, almost down to the breast. After breeding season, these bright feathers are swapped out for white and grey one.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://birdsna.org/Species-Account/bna/species/ameavo/conservation|title=American Avocet (Recurvirostra americana)|last=Ackerman|first=Joshua|last2=Hartman|first2=Alex|date=2013|website=The Birds of North America|publisher=Cornell Lab of Ornithology|location=Ithaca, New York, USA|language=en|doi=10.2173/bna.275|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=2017-10-17|last3=Herzog|first3=Mark|last4=Takekawa|first4=John|last5=Robinson|first5=Julie|last6=Oring|first6=Lewis|last7=Skorupa|first7=Jospeh|last8=Boettcher|first8=Ruth}}</ref>


==Distribution and habitat==
==Distribution and habitat==
The breeding habitat is marshes, beaches, prairie ponds, and shallow lakes in the mid-west as far north as southern [[Alberta]], [[Saskatchewan]], and [[Manitoba]],<ref name=Cornell/> and on the [[Pacific]] coast of [[North America]].
The breeding habitat is marshes, beaches, prairie ponds, and shallow lakes in the mid-west as far north as southern [[Alberta]], [[Saskatchewan]], and [[Manitoba]],<ref name=Cornell/> and on the [[Pacific]] coast of [[North America]].


=== Migration ===
This species is [[bird migration|migratory]], and mostly winters on the southern [[Atlantic]] and Pacific coasts of [[Mexico]] and the [[United States]].
This species is [[bird migration|migratory]], and mostly winters on the southern [[Atlantic]] and Pacific coasts of [[Mexico]] and the [[United States]].


==Behaviour==
==Behaviour and ecology==

=== Breeding ===
American avocets form breeding colonies numbering dozens of pairs. When breeding is over the birds gather in large flocks, sometimes including hundreds of birds. Nesting occurs near water, usually on small islands or boggy shorelines where access by predators is difficult. The female lays four eggs in a saucer-shaped nest, and both sexes take turns incubating them. Upon hatching, the chicks feed themselves; they are never fed by their parents.<ref name="LPZAmericanAvocet">[http://www.lpzoo.org/animals/factsheet/american-avocet "American Avocet Fact Sheet, Lincoln Park Zoo"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719150213/http://www.lpzoo.org/animals/factsheet/american-avocet |date=July 19, 2011 }}</ref>
American avocets form breeding colonies numbering dozens of pairs. When breeding is over the birds gather in large flocks, sometimes including hundreds of birds. Nesting occurs near water, usually on small islands or boggy shorelines where access by predators is difficult. The female lays four eggs in a saucer-shaped nest, and both sexes take turns incubating them. Upon hatching, the chicks feed themselves; they are never fed by their parents.<ref name="LPZAmericanAvocet">[http://www.lpzoo.org/animals/factsheet/american-avocet "American Avocet Fact Sheet, Lincoln Park Zoo"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719150213/http://www.lpzoo.org/animals/factsheet/american-avocet |date=July 19, 2011 }}</ref>

=== Threats ===
Shooting and trapping of American avocets led to population decline until the 1900s. During this time, the species was extirpated from most of the East Coast of the United States.<ref name=":1" /> By 1918, Avocets became protected under the [[Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918|Migratory Bird Treaty Act]] (16 U.S.C. 703-712). Since that time, other threats have emerged. Contaminants and toxins such as [[Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane|DDT]], [[selenium]], and [[methylmercury]], have had significant impacts on American avocet breeding success.<ref name=":1" /> The avocet also faces habitat loss. While agricultural and industrial environments have become alternate habitat for the avocet, natural wetlands are decreasing rapidly.<ref name=":1" />

== In culture ==

=== Art ===
[[File:318 American Avocet.jpg|thumb|John James Audubon's depiction of the American avocet in breeding plumage.]]
In his famous ''[[The Birds of America]]'', [[John James Audubon]] describes a day of stalking and spying on the avocet. He judiciously noted their foraging, nesting, defensive, and flight behaviors.<ref name=":0" /> See his painting to the right.


==Protected status==
==Protected status==

Revision as of 00:30, 19 October 2017

American avocet
Breeding plumage
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Aves
Order:
Charadriiformes
Family:
Recurvirostridae
Genus:
Recurvirostra
Species:
R. americana
Binomial name
Recurvirostra americana
Gmelin, 1789
American avocet calls
Calls from American avocets in Palo Alto, California
Problems playing this file? See media help.

The American avocet (Recurvirostra americana) is a large wader in the avocet and stilt family, Recurvirostridae. The American avocet forages in shallow water or on mud flats, often sweeping its bill from side to side in water as it seeks its crustacean and insect prey.

Description

The American avocet measures 40–51 cm (16–20 in) in length, has a wingsand of 68–76 cm (27–30 in) and weighs 275–420 g (9.7–14.8 oz)[2][3] The bill is black, pointed, and curved slightly upwards towards the tip. It is long, surpassing twice the length of the avocet's small, rounded head. Like many waders, the avocet has long, slender legs and slightly webbed feet.[4] The legs are a pastel grey-blue, giving it its colloquial name, blue shanks. The plumage is black and white on the back with white on the underbelly. During the breeding season, the plumage is brassy orange on the head and neck, almost down to the breast. After breeding season, these bright feathers are swapped out for white and grey one.[5]

Distribution and habitat

The breeding habitat is marshes, beaches, prairie ponds, and shallow lakes in the mid-west as far north as southern Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba,[2] and on the Pacific coast of North America.

Migration

This species is migratory, and mostly winters on the southern Atlantic and Pacific coasts of Mexico and the United States.

Behaviour and ecology

Breeding

American avocets form breeding colonies numbering dozens of pairs. When breeding is over the birds gather in large flocks, sometimes including hundreds of birds. Nesting occurs near water, usually on small islands or boggy shorelines where access by predators is difficult. The female lays four eggs in a saucer-shaped nest, and both sexes take turns incubating them. Upon hatching, the chicks feed themselves; they are never fed by their parents.[6]

Threats

Shooting and trapping of American avocets led to population decline until the 1900s. During this time, the species was extirpated from most of the East Coast of the United States.[5] By 1918, Avocets became protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703-712). Since that time, other threats have emerged. Contaminants and toxins such as DDT, selenium, and methylmercury, have had significant impacts on American avocet breeding success.[5] The avocet also faces habitat loss. While agricultural and industrial environments have become alternate habitat for the avocet, natural wetlands are decreasing rapidly.[5]

In culture

Art

John James Audubon's depiction of the American avocet in breeding plumage.

In his famous The Birds of America, John James Audubon describes a day of stalking and spying on the avocet. He judiciously noted their foraging, nesting, defensive, and flight behaviors.[4] See his painting to the right.

Protected status

The American avocet is protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.[7]

Gallery

References

  1. ^ Template:IUCN
  2. ^ a b "American Avocet, Identification". allaboutbirds.org. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University.
  3. ^ "American Avocet". seaworld.org. SeaWorld.
  4. ^ a b Audubon, John James (1861). The birds of America : from drawings made in the United States and their territories. Vol. 6. New York. pp. 24–30.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. ^ a b c d Ackerman, Joshua; Hartman, Alex; Herzog, Mark; Takekawa, John; Robinson, Julie; Oring, Lewis; Skorupa, Jospeh; Boettcher, Ruth (2013). "American Avocet (Recurvirostra americana)". The Birds of North America. Ithaca, New York, USA: Cornell Lab of Ornithology. doi:10.2173/bna.275. Retrieved 2017-10-17. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  6. ^ "American Avocet Fact Sheet, Lincoln Park Zoo" Archived July 19, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ Migratory Bird Treaty
  • O'Brien, Michael, et al. (2006). The Shorebird Guide. New York: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-618-43294-9

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Recurvirostra americana.
Wikispecies has information related to Recurvirostra americana.
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