Geomeunmeorimulttesae

Basic information

Designation

Natural Monument No.326

Category

동식물

Designated year

1982

Location

., 기타— 기타 전국일원

Coordinates

No precise coordinates are available, so this item is not shown as a map marker. To be added later.

This English description was machine-translated and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the original Korean text for details.

The Eurasian Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) breeds only in limited areas worldwide, with very small populations distributed along the eastern coast of Kamchatka, Pen'zhina Bay at the northern end of the Sea of Okhotsk, the central Amur basin, Hebei Province in China, and Japan. Small numbers also breed on uninhabited islands in Korea's West Sea; however, it is primarily a winter bird—flocks that spend the summer in Russia and China migrate to Korea to overwinter. The Eurasian Oystercatcher is identical in appearance between males and females, with a body length of 43 cm. The head, chest, and back are black, while the belly, shoulders, lower back, rear wings, and tail are white; the bill, eyes, and feet are red. During the breeding season, groups of four to five birds gather on uninhabited islands, river delta mudflats, coastal gravel beaches, and tidal flats, laying two to three eggs between April and May. They feed on snails, shellfish, crabs, and small fish. It was first confirmed that the Eurasian Oystercatcher breeds in Korea in April 1917; subsequent confirmation of eggs in 1973 and 1974 established that this species breeds rarely but regularly on small islands along Korea's West Sea coast. The Eurasian Oystercatcher, distributed in Korea and throughout Northeast Asia, is a rare species facing serious survival threats and is therefore designated and protected as a Natural Monument.