American avocet
Recurvirostra americana J. F. Gmelin, 1789
The American avocet (Recurvirostra americana) is a species in the family Recurvirostridae, order Charadriiformes. Recorded adults weigh 304.5 g to 317.2 g and live up to 9.58 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the American avocet
- Weight
- 304.5 g – 317.2 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 68 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 9.58 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 15 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- wetlandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 24.1 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Partialsrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the American avocet?
Photos of the American avocet
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the American avocet live?
Not recorded
What is the American avocet?
The American avocet (Recurvirostra americana) is a large wader in the avocet and stilt family, Recurvirostridae, found in North America. It spends much of its time foraging in shallow water or on mud flats, often sweeping its bill from side to side in water as it seeks crustacean and insect prey.
From the Wikipedia article “American avocet” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=American_avocet&oldid=1380598740), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the American avocet sound like?
Is the American avocet endangered?
The American avocet is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the American avocet classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderCharadriiformes
- familyRecurvirostridae
- genusRecurvirostra
- SpeciesRecurvirostra americana J. F. Gmelin, 1789
Other names and names in other languages (46)
- NeversweatEnglish
- نكات أميركيArabic
- Amerika bizdimdiyiAzerbaijani
- Avosetenn AmerikaBreton
- bec d'alena nord-americàCatalan
- tenkozobec americkýCzech
- cambig AmericaWelsh
- Amerikansk KlydeDanish
- BraunhalssäbelschnäblerGerman
- Amerikanischer SäbelschnäblerGerman
- Braunhals-SäbelschnäblerGerman
- Αμερικανική αβοκέταGreek
- amerika avocetoEsperanto
- Avoceta americanaSpanish
- preeria-naaskelnokkEstonian
- نوکخنجری آمریکاییPersian
- preeria-avosettiFinnish
- Avocette d'AmériqueFrench
- Avocette d’AmériqueFrench
- Abhóiséad MheiriceánachIrish
- סייפן אמריקאיHebrew
- amerikai gulipánHungarian
- Avocetta americanaItalian
- アメリカソリハシセイタカシギJapanese
- 아메리카뒷부리장다리물떼새Korean
- amerikinė avocetėLithuanian
- Amerikas avozetaLatvian
- Jáádtsʼósí łichíʼígííNavajo
- Amerikaanse KluutDutch
- Noordamerikaanse kluutDutch
- amerikaavosettNorwegian
- Kaweta di Patu Boka LantáPapiamento
- Kaweta di Pato Boka LantápPapiamento
- szablodziób amerykańskiPolish
- alfaiate-americanoPortuguese
- alfaiate-de-pescoço-pardoPortuguese
- Американская шилоклювкаRussian
- Американская шилоютювкаRussian
- šabliarka žltokrkáSlovak
- ameriška sabljarkaSlovenian
- Američka sabljarkaSerbian
- amerikansk skärfläckaSwedish
- Kızıl KılıçgagaTurkish
- чоботар американськийUkrainian
- 紅胸反嘴鴴Chinese
- 褐胸反嘴鹬Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the American avocet
Other species in the same genus Recurvirostra.
Pied avocet
Recurvirostra avosetta
Andean avocet
Recurvirostra andina
Red-necked avocet
Recurvirostra novaehollandiae
CompareAmerican avocet vs Pied avocetAmerican avocet vs Andean avocetAmerican avocet vs Red-necked avocet
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the American avocet?
An adult American avocet weighs 304.5 g – 317.2 g and has a wingspan of 68 cm, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the American avocet endangered?
The American avocet is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the American avocet live?
The American avocet has a recorded lifespan of 9.58 years.
What kind of animal is the American avocet?
The American avocet (Recurvirostra americana) belongs to the family Recurvirostridae in the order Charadriiformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). American avocet (Recurvirostra americana). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/american-avocet
“American avocet (Recurvirostra americana).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/american-avocet.
@misc{american_avocet_2026,
title = {American avocet (Recurvirostra americana)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/american-avocet},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}