What does the Eurasian oystercatcher feed on?

The Eurasian oystercatcher ('Haematopus ostralegus') also known as the common pied oystercatcher, or palaearctic oystercatcher, or (in Europe) just oystercatcher, is a wader in the oystercatcher bird family 'Haematopodidae'. It is the most widespread of the oystercatchers, with three races breeding in western Europe, central Eurasia, Kamchatka, China, and the western coast of Korea.

No other oystercatcher occurs within this area. The extinct Canary Islands oystercatcher ('Haematopus meadewaldoi'), formerly considered a distinct species, may have actually been an isolated subspecies or distinct population of the Eurasian oystercatcher.

They are obvious and noisy plover-like birds, with black and white plumage, red legs and strong broad red bills used for smashing or prising open molluscs such as mussels or for finding earthworms. Despite its name, oysters do not form a large part of its diet. The bird still lives up to its name, as few if any other wading birds are capable of opening oysters at all.