African oystercatcher | |
---|---|
African oystercatcher in Betty's Bay | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Charadriiformes |
Family: | Haematopodidae |
Genus: | Haematopus |
Species: | H. moquini
|
Binomial name | |
Haematopus moquini Bonaparte, 1856
| |
![]() | |
African oystercatcher Population and Breeding Range. Orange = Breeding Range, Pale Orange = Population Range. | |
Synonyms | |
Metanibyx africana ? |
The African oystercatcher or African black oystercatcher (Haematopus moquini) is a large charismatic wader resident to the mainland coasts and offshore islands of southern Africa. This near-threatened oystercatcher has a population of over 6,000 adults, which breed between November and April.[9] The scientific name moquini commemorates the French naturalist Alfred Moquin-Tandon who discovered and named this species before Bonaparte.[10]