A black-and-white wader with absurdly long thin pink legs — proportionally longer than almost any other bird. Their high-pitched "yip-yip-yip" alarm calls cut through marsh air during nesting season.
§ Quick facts
§ Encyclopedia
The black-necked stilt, also called the pied stilt, is a locally abundant shorebird of North and South American wetlands and coastlines. It is found from the coastal areas of California through much of the interior western United States and along the Gulf of Mexico as far east as Florida, then south through Central America and the Caribbean to Brazil, Peru and the Galápagos Islands, with an isolated population, the Hawaiian stilt, in Hawaii. The northernmost populations, particularly those from inland, are migratory, wintering from the extreme south of the United States to southern Mexico, rarely as far south as Costa Rica; on the Baja California peninsula it is only found regularly in winter. Some authorities, including the IUCN, treat it as a synonym of Himantopus himantopus.
Source: Wikipedia — Black-necked stilt Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
§ Identification
Field marks. Strikingly long-legged shorebird with black-and-white plumage and bright pink legs.
Similar species. Other stilt species (similar appearance).
Voice. Sharp yipping calls.
§ Diet & behavior
Diet. Aquatic invertebrates.
Behavior. Among the most colorful stilt species. Wades in shallow water on absurdly long pink legs.
§ Range
Wetlands across western and southern US, Caribbean, Central/South America
§ Habitat
Shallow brackish and saline wetlands, mudflats, salt ponds
§ Threats
Loss of saline wetlands, agricultural drainage, contaminated wetlands (selenium).
§ Conservation status
According to the IUCN Red List, the black-necked stilt is currently classified as Least Concern.
§ What helps
Support saline wetland protection. Reduce agricultural drainage. Donate to wetland habitat groups.
§ Further reading
- Wikipedia — Black-necked stilt
- www.allaboutbirds.org — authoritative profile of Himantopus mexicanus
- IUCN Red List · taxon 22694131
- iNaturalist · taxon 4083
- eBird · bknsti
- GBIF occurrence records
- Encyclopedia of Life — Himantopus mexicanus
§ Sources cited
- Cornell Lab — All About Birds
- National Audubon Society
- IUCN Red List 2018
