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Measurements
As with other species of oystercatchers (Hockey 1981), American Oystercatchers are sexually dimorphic, with females bigger and heavier than males (Appendix 4). South American individuals (H. p. durnfordi) have shorter bills (male, 70.9 mm (± 3.96 SD, n = 9); female, 78.8 (± 5.23, n = 6) thantheir North American counterparts, possibly due to increased abrasion from feeding on rocky shores (EN), and also shorter legs (Hayman et al. 1986).
Linear
Measurements for Virginia birds, see Appendix 4 . For Massachusetts (RCH unpubl. data), not different than measurements from Virginia.
Mass
See Appendix 4 . Also, 405–720 g (Johnsgard 1981); 495–625 g (Terres 1980).
Nol, Erica and Robert C. Humphrey. 1994. American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/082
