American Avocet Recurvirostra americana Gmelin       Field Guide IDs: NG-158; G-110; PE-116; PW-pl 26; AE-pl 244; AW-pl 220; AM(I)-338 Nest Location Nest Type Eggs & Mating System Dev. & Parental Care Primary & 2ndary Diet.. Foraging Strategy MF I: 22-29 DAYS PRECOCIAL 2 SWEEPS PROBES MF 4 (3-5) MONOG F: 28-35 DAYS MF BREEDING: Marshes, mud flats, ponds, alkaline lakes, estuaries. 1 brood. DISPLAYS: Courtship: wades, bows, crouches, dances with wings spread. Prostrate female extends head, neck, wings. See: Shorebird Communication. NEST: Among tufts of veg on gravel, sand, mud flats below brush. lining variable, often dry grass, mud chips. EGGS: Olive-buff, marked with brown, black. 2.0" (50 mm). DIET: Mostly crustaceans, insects; aquatic veg, seeds. About 2/3 animal. Usu forages by sweeping bill back and forth beneath water's surface, finding food by feel. CONSERVATION: Winters s to s Mexico. NOTES: Loosely colonial. Loud calls and mobbing of predator typical defense on breeding grounds; group distraction display. Male and female develop brood patches; male incubates more frequently for first 8 days, then primarily female for next 16. Young hatch synchronously. Activity peaks in early morning and in afternoon. Food stirred up by American Avocets taken by commensal Wilson's Phalaropes following behind. STANFORD. NOTES: ESSAYS: Bills; Feet; Shorebird Feeding; Commensal Feeding; Distraction Displays; Brood Patches. REFERENCES: Gibson, 1971, 1978; Grant, 1982; Hamilton, 1975.