CreatureData

Variable oystercatcher

Haematopus unicolor J. R. Forster, 1844

LCLeast Concernbirds

The variable oystercatcher (Haematopus unicolor) is a species in the family Haematopodidae, order Charadriiformes. Recorded adults weigh 552.5 g to 725 g and live up to 36 years. Source checklists list it for 1 country: Australia. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Variable oystercatcher (Haematopus unicolor)
Photo: JJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the variable oystercatcher

Weight
552.5 g – 725 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
36 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
43.3 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
coastalsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
25.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
2.4 – 2.79src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
3 years – 3.98 yearssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
1src for Litters or clutches a year
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
1 countrysrc for Countries on record

Where does the variable oystercatcher live?

Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.

The variable oystercatcher is listed for 1 country.

Australia
  • Listed
  • Not listed
small islands are not drawn at this scale

The same countries as a list

  1. Australia

Listed by: ITIS (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.

What is the variable oystercatcher?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The variable oystercatcher (Haematopus unicolor) is a species of wader in the family Haematopodidae. It is endemic to New Zealand. The Māori name is tōrea-pango. They are also known as 'red bills'.

From the Wikipedia article “Variable oystercatcher” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Variable_oystercatcher&oldid=1375955484), 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.

Is the variable oystercatcher endangered?

The variable oystercatcher is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the variable oystercatcher classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderCharadriiformes
  5. familyHaematopodidae
  6. genusHaematopus
  7. SpeciesHaematopus unicolor J. R. Forster, 1844

Synonyms Haematopus ostralegus unicolor, Haematopus reischeki, Haematopus unicolor unicolor

Other names and names in other languages (39)
  • VOCEnglish
  • صائد المحار المتغيرArabic
  • Morbig Zeland-NevezBreton
  • garsa de mar variableCatalan
  • ústřičník proměnlivýCzech
  • pioden fôr amrywiolWelsh
  • Newzealandsk StrandskadeDanish
  • Neuseeland-AusternfischerGerman
  • Neuseeländischer AusternfischerGerman
  • varia hematopodoEsperanto
  • Ostrero variableSpanish
  • maoori mustmeriskEstonian
  • صدفخوار چندریختPersian
  • nokimeriharakkaFinnish
  • Huîtrier variableFrench
  • novozelandski oštrigarCroatian
  • változó csigaforgatóHungarian
  • Beccaccia di mare variabileItalian
  • ニュージーランドミヤコドリJapanese
  • vienspalvė jūršarkėLithuanian
  • TōreaMāori
  • Tōrea pangoMāori
  • Tōrea taiMāori
  • ToreapangoMāori
  • Nieuwzeelandse zwarte scholeksterDutch
  • Nieuw-Zeelandse Zwarte ScholeksterDutch
  • todrakttjeldNorwegian
  • ostrygojad zmiennyPolish
  • piru-piru-variávelPortuguese
  • ostraceiro-variávelPortuguese
  • Изменчивый кулик-сорокаRussian
  • lastúrničiar menlivýSlovak
  • Raznobojni ostrigarSerbian
  • nyazeelandstrandskataSwedish
  • Yeni Zelanda Kara PoyrazkuşuTurkish
  • кулик-сорока мінливобарвнийUkrainian
  • 雜色蠣鴴Chinese
  • 新西兰蛎鹬Chinese
  • 新西蘭蠣鷸Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the variable oystercatcher

Other species in the same genus Haematopus.

CompareVariable oystercatcher vs Eurasian oystercatcherVariable oystercatcher vs American oystercatcherVariable oystercatcher vs South island oystercatcherVariable oystercatcher vs African oystercatcher

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the variable oystercatcher?

An adult variable oystercatcher weighs 552.5 g – 725 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Where does the variable oystercatcher live?

Catalogue of Life checklists list the variable oystercatcher for 1 country: Australia. Checklist coverage is uneven, so the true range may be wider.

Is the variable oystercatcher endangered?

The variable oystercatcher is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

How long does the variable oystercatcher live?

The variable oystercatcher has a recorded lifespan of 36 years.

What kind of animal is the variable oystercatcher?

The variable oystercatcher (Haematopus unicolor) belongs to the family Haematopodidae in the order Charadriiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Variable oystercatcher (Haematopus unicolor). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/variable-oystercatcher

MLA

“Variable oystercatcher (Haematopus unicolor).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/variable-oystercatcher.

BibTeX
@misc{variable_oystercatcher_2026,
  title = {Variable oystercatcher (Haematopus unicolor)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/variable-oystercatcher},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}