avocet
Stilt's leggy cousin
An avocet is a long-legged wading bird with a slender, upward-curving bill that it sweeps side to side through shallow water to catch small invertebrates.
Four species exist worldwide, distinguished by their striking black-and-white plumage: We spotted an American avocet at the salt marsh.
Coastal bird species
- waderShallow-water walker
- plumageBird's complete feather coat
- billAmount owed, written
- feathersBird's lightweight covering
nesting · breeding · chicks · eggs · flock · avian · ornithology · birdwatching
Water-saturated terrain
- estuaryTidal mixing zone
- mudflatExposed shore sediment
- saltmarshCoastal wetland with brackish water
- marshGrassy waterlogged lowland
brackish · tidal · lagoon · shallows · flats · shoreline · inland · coastal
Bent in ascending arc
- billAmount owed, written
- sweepBrush clean with broom
- invertebratesAnimals without vertebral columns
- brine shrimpTiny saline-water crustacean
aquatic insects · crustaceans · wading · scything · filter · shallow water · probing · feeding
shorebird
Coastal bird species
feathers · nesting · breeding · chicks · eggs · flock · avian · ornithology · birdwatching · binoculars
wetlands
Water-saturated terrain
marsh · brackish · tidal · lagoon · shallows · flats · shoreline · inland · coastal · ecosystem
upcurved
Bent in ascending arc
- billAmount owed, written
- sweepBrush clean with broom
- invertebratesAnimals without vertebral columns
brine shrimp · aquatic insects · crustaceans · wading · scything · filter · shallow water · probing · feeding
graceful
Elegant in movement
- slenderThin and graceful
- black-and-whiteWithout color gradations
- leggyHaving lengthy limbs
delicate · striking · distinctive · pied · svelte · poised · sleek
- birdsrobin, crow, eagle, owl, duck
- long-billed birdspelican, brown pelican, white pelican, ibis, spoonbill
- wading birdsheron, egret, herons, egrets, stilt
- waterbirdsducks, auk, geese, bittern, swans
- Hungarian wildlifered deer, roe deer, wild boar, red fox, badger
- Mediterranean wildlifedolphin, monk seal, loggerhead turtle, sea turtle, green turtle