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The article focuses on a study about the geographic variation in the trophic ecology of the African black oystercatcher (ABO), an avian rocky shore predator, along the southern African coastline. Under the study, the trophic ecology of ABO which is also called Haematopus moquini is examined across the full extent of the breeding range in association with the spatial changes in the local assemblages of prey species living in its habitat and with the larger oceanic processes. Data on carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios depict the combination of large-scale patterns of primary productivity and prey assemblages. Tissue analysis suggest changes in intertidal nutrient quality associated with major oceanic influences as well as local anthropogenic perturbations.