American Avocet

How to find it

Concentrate on salt works and freshwater marshes in the northwest lowlands, around the Tempisque basin and the Gulf of Nicoya. Scan shallow water and mud for a pale wader walking with head and neck stretched forward. Watch for the side to side sweep of the upturned bill. Check flocks of Black-necked Stilts and yellowlegs, because a vagrant avocet has been reported sharing the mud with them, along with Wilson's Plovers. Treat any sighting as a bonus, since one turns up every so often but not every year.

How to recognise it

This is a large, slender wader about 46 cm long. Look for these marks:

A thin black bill that curves upward, the quickest clue.

Long blue-gray legs, which earn it the English nickname "blue shanks".

A black and white chevron pattern on the back and wings.

A pale gray head and neck, cinnamon in the breeding season. In winter the head and neck are grayish white.

It is the only avocet with separate breeding and non-breeding plumages, so a bird seen here in winter will usually show the paler look.

What it sounds like

Recording: Liam Steele, CC BY 4.0, source, read 4 Nov 2026.

Behaviour and diet

The avocet walks through shallow water with its head and neck stretched out. It sweeps its bill from side to side over mud or the surface to catch water insects, small crustaceans and seeds.

It is solitary or in small groups. It glides through the shallows and is often seen resting on one leg.

Where it lives

In Costa Rica it is listed from salt works and freshwater marshes. These are lowland wetlands in the northwest of the country. Records come from the Tempisque River basin and the area around the Gulf of Nicoya, and a range database lists it as a non-breeding bird in Guanacaste and Puntarenas provinces.

When to see it

The Costa Rican species account mentions four reports, all between December and May. One bird reported in November 2023 shows that autumn arrivals are possible, though that was a single bird and not a pattern.

Similar birds

The Black-necked Stilt is the common look-alike in Costa Rica, and the two often feed together outside the breeding season. The stilt is shorter and daintier, with a shorter, straighter bill, where the avocet's is longer and turns upward. The stilt keeps a black neck all year, while the avocet's winter head and neck are grayish white.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

Costa Rican Spanish names are Avoceta Americana, the name on the official AOCR list, and Alcaraván americano. English speakers nickname it "blue shanks" for its long pale legs. The Black-necked Stilt, its look-alike, is Cigüeñuela Cuellinegro, nicknamed Soldadito.

Status and conservation

The AOCR list marks it M, and the Costa Rican species account calls it a casual winter visitor that is not regular here.