Gould regretted 'that a bird so attractive in its general appearance, and so singular in its form as the Avocet, should be nearly extirpated from our island! Yet such is unhappily the case; for, although it was formerly abundant, it is now very rarely to be met with.' Gould wrote that Avocets formerly bred on the marshes and sandy dunes of the east coast, but they had been the victims of wanton shooting for their flesh and feathers for artificial flies. Up to 1854 a few pairs continued to visit East Anglia, but within ten years these had departed.

Happily today, through protection and habitat management the Avocet again successfully breeds in Britain.

An adult and young birds about three weeks old, are depicted which have already developed disproportionally long legs and toes.

DISTRIBUTION: Breeds Eurasia and locally in north Africa, east Africa and South Africa. Winters from west and south Europe to north Indo-China and south China and south to southern Africa, Madagascar and Sri Lanka. In Britain ceased breeding in about 1840, recolonised in early 1940s, and now about 400-500 pairs