oyster catcher, n.
Any one of several species of wading birds of the genus Hæmatopus having stout legs and bill and mostly black-and-white plumage, which frequent seashores and feed upon oysters and other shellfish. The European species (Hæmatopus ostralegus), the common American species (Hæmatopus palliatus), and the California, or black, oyster catcher (Hæmatopus Bachmani) are the best known. [1913 Webster]