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Order: Ciconiiformes Family: Recurvirostridae Chick Type: Precocial (Only need parental attendance) American Avocets breed in the in the western half of the United States. They winter in Baja california, Texas, Louisiana, Florida and Central America. Their diet consists of aquatic invertebrates. American Avocets lay 3-4 olive to light brown colored eggs that are blotched with brown. The nest is in form of a scrape in the ground, its lined with plant matter, rocks and feathers. The eggs take around 22-29 days to hatch. Both parents help to take care of the chicks, which will fledge in three to four weeks. Like many shorebirds species, parent Avocets will perform the broken wing display to lure predators away from the nest or its chicks. This species has a upturned bill; females have a stronger upturns than males. One of the uses of this bill is to probe burrows for worms. In the 1960's, this species decline drastically because of humans turning wetlands into farmlands and houses. Since then laws (Emergency Wetlands Resources Act of 1986) have been passed to protect wetlands. Avocets and many other species have benefited from wetland protection and restoration projects around the country. |
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