AVOCET

The avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta) is a graceful marsh bird with a characteristic black and white plumage and is easily recognized by its slender, strongly upcurved, black beak. It is a widely distributed bird, breeding in summer in Europe and migrating south to India and Sri Lanka in winter. They are generally found in pairs or in small flocks on marshy ground, feeding on small crustaceans, aquatic insects and worms which it captures from the mud of the marshes by a characteristic churning or rotatory motion of its bill which is well adapted for its peculiar method of feeding in the soft, marshy ground.