Variable Oystercatcher

As its name implies, the plumage is very variable... We find entirely black individuals and, at the other extreme of the cline, individuals very similar to our Oystercatcher. All the intermediates exist! Individuals in pie plumage can be confused with Finsch's Oystercatcher (Haematopus finschi), sometimes considered a subspecies of the Oystercatcher (H. ostralegus finschi), but the beak of the Variable Oystercatcher is much more powerful and the limit between black and white on the chest is never very clear. There is no white patch on the shoulders and the lower back (visible in flight) is heavily barred with black and not pure white. The Variable Oystercatcher is a coastal species while its congener is mainly an inland species, but both species coexist in winter.