(Part of the) common name of all species of the family Haematopodidae (Charadriiformes, suborder Charadrii) and in the plural the general term for this small cosmopolitan family mainly living at the seashore. They are large waders (40-53 cm long) with either a black-and-white or a wholly black plumage and a characteristic long, laterally compressed, powerful, orange-red bill. The characteristic call is a loud and clear 'klee-eep, klee-eep' and their food mainly consists of molluscs, crustaceans and annelid worms as well as insects.

Alternative forms for oystercatchers : Haematopus, oystercatcher.