NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
American Oystercatcher
Haematopus palliatus Temminck, 1820
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The American oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus), occasionally called the American pied oystercatcher, is a member of family Haematopodidae. Originally called the "sea pie", it was renamed in 1731 when naturalist Mark Catesby claimed that he had observed the bird eating oysters. The current population of American oystercatchers is estimated to be 50,000 – 99,999 mature individuals. There are estimated to be 1,500 breeding pairs along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the US. The bird is marked by its black and white body and a long, thick orange beak.
Wikipedia contributors, American oystercatcher; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:52:53.574861+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Haematopus palliatus Temminck, 1820
- Name authority
- Temminck, 1820
- Common name
- American Oystercatcher
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Haematopodidae
- Genus
- Haematopus
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderCharadriiformes
- familyHaematopodidae
- genusHaematopus Linnaeus, 1758
- speciesHaematopus palliatus Temminck, 1820
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Haematopus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| American Black OystercatcherHaematopus bachmani Audubon, 1838 | HaematopodidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Sooty OystercatcherHaematopus fuliginosus Gould, 1845 | HaematopodidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Magellanic OystercatcherHaematopus leucopodus Garnot, 1826 | HaematopodidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Eurasian OystercatcherHaematopus ostralegus Linnaeus, 1758 | HaematopodidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Blackish OystercatcherHaematopus ater Vieillot, 1825 | HaematopodidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Chatham OystercatcherHaematopus chathamensis E. Hartert, 1927 | HaematopodidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| South Island OystercatcherHaematopus finschi G. H. Martens, 1897 | HaematopodidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Pied OystercatcherHaematopus longirostris Vieillot, 1817 | HaematopodidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Canarian OystercatcherHaematopus meadewaldoi Bannerman, 1913 | HaematopodidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extinct |
| African OystercatcherHaematopus moquini Bonaparte, 1856 | HaematopodidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Variable OystercatcherHaematopus unicolor J. R. Forster, 1844 | HaematopodidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Middle America
North America
South America
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=176472 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3J8XR. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.