#0546 · 🐦 birds
Eurasian Oystercatcher
🇳🇱 Scholekster ·Haematopus ostralegus
10 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences
- 1. © Paul Cools · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 2. © Александр · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
- 3. © Szymon Bzoma · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 4. © Antti Henttonen · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 5. © Li Jianong · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 6. © Aleksey Levashkin · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 7. © belyykit · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 8. © solomon v. hendrix · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 9. © Pentti Ketola · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 10. © friedfish · CC BY-NC 4.0
what is it?
The Eurasian oystercatcher ( Haematopus ostralegus ) also known as the common pied oystercatcher , or palaearctic 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.
base stats
Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).
fun facts
- Spotted 3,572 times in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: the #15 most seen of the birds in NL.
- 49,010 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
- Weighs only about 518 g.
- Scientifically named in 1758 (268 years ago).
fact sheet
- English
- Eurasian Oystercatcher
- Nederlands
- Scholekster
- scientific name
- Haematopus ostralegus
- class
- Aves
- order
- Charadriiformes
- family
- Haematopodidae
- IUCN Red List
- NT · near threatened
- sightings in NL
- 3,572
- sightings in Europe
- 41,853
- sightings worldwide
- 49,010
- GBIF records in NL
- 1,551,808
- weight
- 518 g
- length
- —
- lifespan
- —
- named
- 1758
IUCN in Dutch: gevoelig. Blank means the sources don't say.
relatives· Haematopodidae
Sources: iNaturalist taxon 4843, Wikidata Q25928, GBIF 7788295, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.