CLASS AVES

American Avocet

Animals Kingdom (Animalia)

• Chordates (Phylum Chordata)

• Vertebrates (Subphylum Vertebrata)

• Birds (Class Aves)

American avocets are found in western North America from March through October and in coastal California, southern Texas, Florida, Louisiana and south to Guatemala in winter. They are numerous in mudflats, ponds, wetlands, and freshwater marshes and swamps. They are also common in lakes, rocky/sandy seashores, bay/coastal islands, and tidal flats. These are migratory birds that form social groups and are colonial nesters. Outside of breeding season they may gather in flocks of several hundred and feed in dense groups. They swoop their open bills back and forth in shallow water to catch aquatic insects.