Scientific name:
Haematopus fuliginosus
(Gould 1845)
Haematopus – Latin; haematopus bloodfoot – from the Greek; haima blood; pous foot.
fuliginosus– Late Latin; fuliginosus sooty derived from Latin fuligo, fuliginis soot.
Sooty Oystercatcher Fact File
Distribution: Coastal Australia
Conservation Status: Least Concern
Subspecies: Two
• H. f. fuliginosus: (Gould 1845) Late Latin; fuliginosus sooty derived from Latin fuligo, fuliginis soot – Southern Australian coasts from Abrolhos Islands in Western Australia, south and east to south-east Queensland and Tasmania.
• H. f. opthalmicus: (Castelnau & Ramsay 1877) – Northern Australian coasts from Shark Bay, western Australia, north and east and down east coast as far as south-east Queensland.
Current conservation efforts
Together with the Pied Oystercatcher, Beach Stone-curlew, Red-capped Plover and Hooded Plover, the Sooty Oystercatcher is protected as part of BirdLife Australia’s “Beach-nesting Birds project”. This long running project was established in 2006 to:
- Raise awareness among beach users about beach-nesting birds
- Train local volunteers to monitor beach-nesting birds, identify threats and improve management
- Protect eggs and chicks through temporary fencing, signage, artificial shelters
- Research new ways of protecting birds and improving breeding success
Read more about how this excellent incentive is helping these beach-nesting birds:
Gallery
All photographs taken by Elis Simpson – Wader Quest