Haematopus unicolor

The Variable Oystercatcher. This is the second of the two NZ oystercatchers (the first), this one being endemic. "Variable" refers to the different plumages this species possesses, ranging from fully black (like this and most others I've seen so far) to pied, in which the back is black and the belly white. Both species occur in Kaikoura, though the Variable is more numerous. Often they are seen in pairs (they usually mate for life) picking about the mud and rocks of the shoreline for clams, crabs, mud worms, and, theoretically, oysters. This one in particular was having great success with clams--it seemed to pull one out of the muck every couple minutes. It's hard to get over that luminous orange bill, especially in the all-black birds.