Bird - Oystercatcher - Dixon postcard 1960s

Postcard
• Picture / Image:  Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus)
• Publisher:  J Arthur Dixon (WL 93)
• Postally used:  no
• Stamp:  n/a
• Postmark(s):  n/a
• Sent to:  n/a
• Notes / condition:  no faults

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Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

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The oystercatchers are a group of waders; they form the family Haematopodidae, which has a single genus, Haematopus. They are found on coasts worldwide apart from the polar regions and some tropical regions of Africa and South East Asia. The exception to this is the Eurasian Oystercatcher and the South Island Oystercatcher, both of which breed inland, far inland in some cases. In the past there has been a great deal of confusion as to the species limits, with discrete populations of all black oystercatchers being afforded specific status but pied oystercatchers being considered one single species.^[1]

The name oystercatcher was coined by Mark Catesby in 1731 as a common name for the North American species H. palliatus, described as eating oysters.^[2] Yarrell in 1843 established this as the preferred term, replacing the older name Sea Pie.^[2]

The Eurasian Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) also known as the Common Pied Oystercatcher, or (in Europe) just Oystercatcher, is a wader in the oystercatcher bird family Haematopodidae. It is the most widespread of the oystercatchers, with three races breeding in western Europe, central Eurasia, Kamchatka, China, and the western coast of Korea. No other oystercatcher occurs within this area.

This oystercatcher is the national bird of the Faroe Islands, where it is called tjaldur.

The Oystercatcher is one of the largest waders in the region. It is 40–45 centimetres (16–18 in) long (bill 8–9 cm) with a wing-span 80–85 centimetres (31–33 in).^[2] They are obvious and noisy plover-like birds, with black and white plumage, red legs and strong broad red bills used for smashing or prising open molluscs such as mussels or for finding earthworms.^[2] Despite its name, oysters do not form a large part of its diet. The bird still lives up to its name, as few if any other wading birds are capable of opening oysters at all.

This oystercatcher is unmistakable in flight, with white patches on the wings and tail, otherwise black upperparts, and white underparts. Young birds are more brown, have a white neck collar and a duller bill. The call is a distinctive loud piping.

The bill shape varies; oystercatchers with broad bill tips open molluscs by prising them apart or hammering through the shell, whereas pointed-bill birds dig up worms. Much of this is due to the wear resulting from feeding on the prey. Individual birds specialise in one technique or the other which they learn from their parents.^[2]

type=printed postcards

theme=animals

sub-theme=birds

number of items=single

period=1945 - present

postage condition=unposted