Skip to main content

Story: Wading birds

Wrybill feeding at the coast

Image
Wrybill feeding at the coast

At winter feeding grounds, a wrybill’s diet comes from the sea shore. Now the bill is used as a scoop. By sweeping sideways up to the right, it collects tiny crustaceans. A wrybill can make up to 100 of these sweeping movements per minute. It will also probe for worms and bivalves, and snatch at crabs.

Using this item

Eco-vista: Photography & Research

Reference: Image 010005_031027

by Brent Stephenson

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page

Gerard Hutching, Wading birds – Wrybills and shore plovers, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/9175/wrybill-feeding-at-the-coast (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Gerard Hutching, published 2 March 2009.