oystercatcher

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. Any of several wading birds of the genus Haematopus, having black and white plumage and a long orange bill and feeding on oysters, clams, and limpets.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A maritime wading bird of the family Hæmatopodidæ: so called from the habit of feeding upon small oysters and other mollusks. There are several species, found on the sea-coast of most countries, all of the single genus Hæmatopus, about 18 inches long and 30 inches in extent of wings, with stout red or bright-colored bill and feet, and the plumage either party-colored with black and white or entirely blackish. The common European oyster-catcher, H. ostrilegus; has the head, neck, and most of the upper parts glossy-black, the under parts, rump, and parts of the wings and tail white. It is very widely distributed in Europe, Asia, and Africa. The American oyster-catcher is a similar but distinct species, H. palliatus, having the back smoky-brown in contrast to the black head. It is common along the Atlantic coast. H. niger, the black oyster-catcher, inhabits the Pacific coast. See cut under Hæmatopus.

Wiktionary

1. n. Any of several black or pied coastal wading birds in the genus Haematopus that have a long red or orange bill and feed on shellfish.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. (Zoöl.) See oystercatcher in the vocabulary.
2. n. (Zoöl.) Any one of several species of wading birds of the genus Hæmatopus having stout legs and bill and mostly black-and-white plumage, which frequent seashores and feed upon oysters and other shellfish. The European species (Hæmatopus ostralegus), the common American species (Hæmatopus palliatus), and the California, or black, oyster catcher (Hæmatopus Bachmani) are the best known.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. black-and-white shorebird with stout legs and bill; feed on oysters etc.
2. n. black-and-white shorebird with stout legs and bill; feed on oysters etc.