Originally called the "sea pie", it was renamed in 1731 when naturalist Mark Catesby claimed that he had observed the bird eating oysters.

The American oystercatcher has distinctive black and white plumage and a long, bright orange beak.

[5] In the 19th century they became locally extinct in the lower northeastern United States due to market hunting and egg collecting.

After receiving protection under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, their range extended northward to re-occupy historical habitat in the coastal Northeast.

During the breeding season, these birds are found along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts and from Massachusetts south to Argentina and Chile.

[7] During the breeding season, the American oystercatcher can be found in coastal habitats including sand or shell beaches, dunes, salt marshes, marsh islands, mudflats, and dredge spoil islands made of sand or gravel.

[8] Oysters are a staple of their diet, as their name suggests, but they also eat mussels, clams, limpets, sea urchins, starfish, crabs, and worms.

[8] They also feed by carrying loose shellfish out of the water and hammering at the shell or by probing the sand for soft-shell or razor clams.

[8] Although the eggs are well camouflaged, they are vulnerable to predation by raccoons, coyotes, skunks, gulls, crows, rats, and foxes.

The reasons given are that the bird has a very wide range and that the total number of individuals is believed to be stable, and actually increasing in the case of the United States.

[2] Although not listed as a federally threatened or endangered species, it is vulnerable to loss of habitat due to development on the coasts[6] and sea level rise.