Creatures in Crisis
Photograph of Chatham Oystercatcher (Haematopus chathamensis), recorded as Endangered
Chatham Oystercatcher (Haematopus chathamensis). Image via Wikimedia Commons.

Endangered

Chatham Oystercatcher

Haematopus chathamensis

Chatham Oystercatcher is a shorebird in the family Haematopodidae (order Charadriiformes) — Haematopus chathamensis, recorded as Endangered and tied to New Zealand.

Status
Endangered
Scientific name
Haematopus chathamensis
Recorded from
New Zealand
Taxonomy
Aves · Charadriiformes · Haematopodidae · Haematopus

Appearance

The Chatham Islands oystercatcher has distinctive black and white plumage and a long, thick orange-red beak. The lower underparts are white with an unclear demarcation on the breast.

Adults are about 48 centimetres (19 in) in length.

Published measurements include mass about 640.

Range and habitat

The Chatham Islands oystercatcher is only found on the Chatham Islands, an archipelago about 680 kilometres (420 mi) south east of New Zealand. Each of the four main islands has small breeding populations. The Chatham Islands oystercatcher or tōrea tai, formerly known as the Chatham oystercatcher, is a oystercatcher.

It is a wading bird endemic to the Chatham Islands, New Zealand. "Chatham Island oystercatcher recovery plan 2001-2011" (PDF).

Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.

Breeding

The nest is built on the beach on sandy or rocky shores and consists of a simple scrape. The success rate of each pair averages 0.44 fledglings per breeding season, with flooding the main cause of egg loss.

In crisis

This species is rated by the IUCN as endangered, and has a current population of 310 to 325 birds (2004 census). The main threat is from introduced predators.

Chatham Oystercatcher is Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.

Sources

Written for this catalog from the English Wikipedia article on Chatham Oystercatcher, Wikidata item Q1068189. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.

Photograph via Wikimedia Commons. Wikipedia · Wikidata · IUCN Red List.

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Quick answers

What is Chatham Oystercatcher?
Chatham Oystercatcher is a shorebird in the family Haematopodidae (order Charadriiformes) — Haematopus chathamensis.
What is the conservation status of Chatham Oystercatcher?
Endangered, as the IUCN category stored on Wikidata for Haematopus chathamensis. Confirm the official assessment on iucnredlist.org.
Where does Chatham Oystercatcher live?
The Chatham Islands oystercatcher is only found on the Chatham Islands, an archipelago about 680 kilometres (420 mi) south east of New Zealand.
Why is Chatham Oystercatcher in crisis?
This species is rated by the IUCN as endangered, and has a current population of 310 to 325 birds (2004 census).
Is this the IUCN Red List page for Haematopus chathamensis?
No. This is a researched catalog account. The Red List is the assessment.
Is Chatham Oystercatcher a pet?
An animal on this catalog is in crisis in the wild. Keeping one is usually the wrong question.