Species fact sheet by Global Register of Migratory Species - www.groms.de

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All races undertake seasonal movements and habitat shifts. Longest distance movements made by ostralegus and longipes. In nominate ostralegus, all inland breeders move to coast in winter; coastal populations between Norway, Gulf of Bothnia and White Sea move S; most birds spend winter in Europe, especially around the Wadden Sea and Irish Sea, with combined total of 500,000 birds; with exception of passage between Norway and Britain, North Sea acts as barrier to E-W migrations; S limit to winter range of nominate ostralegus is normally Guinea. In races longipes and asculans, breeding and non-breeding ranges wholly disjunct. Race longipes winters on coast mainly from E Africa to India, but a few birds rarely penetrate as far S as South Africa. Race osculans occasionally winters on Anadyr estuary, Bering Is, Kuril Is and Sakhalin; also recorded in Myanmar and even Bangladesh. Birds are faithful to their non-breeding areas, but many do not return to breeding grounds for first time until their fourth year. Race finschi is short distance migrant, moving from inland breeding grounds to coasts of both North I and South I; several sightings of pied ostercatchers on Norfolk I and Lord Howe I, which have tentatively been attributed to finshi by some authors, could equally well refer to any of the other Australasian pied forms.   (del Hoyo J, Elliott A, Sargatal J (eds), 1996)

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