Black-necked Stilt

Himantopus mexicanusOrder: CHARADRIIFORMESFamily: Avocets and Stilts (Recurvirostridae)

Breeding Location:

Marshes, freshwater, Swamps, Grasslands

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Loose colonies

Breeding Population:

Fairly common to uncommon

Egg Color:

Yellow or buff blotched with black or brown.

Number of Eggs:

3 - 5

Incubation Days:

22 - 25

Egg Incubator:

Both sexes

Nest Material:

LIned with stems, weeds, sticks, grasses, fragments of shells, small rocks, fish bones, and rubbish.

Migration:

Most migrate

Overview

Black-necked Stilt: Large shorebird with sharply contrasting black upperparts and white underparts. Long, thin, upcurved bill. Red eyes with white eye-rings, and white patch above. Legs are extremely long and red-pink. Feeds on insects, fish, worms, small crustaceans and seeds. Swift direct flight.

Range and Habitat

Black-necked Stilt: Breeds along coasts from Oregon and Delaware southward, and locally in western interior states east to Idaho, Kansas, and Texas. Spends winters along the Pacific coast north to central California, Florida, and other Gulf coast states. Preferred habitats include salt marshes, shallow coastal bays, and freshwater marshes.

Breeding and Nesting

Black-necked Stilt: Three to five brown-spotted, yellow or buff eggs are laid in a shallow ground depression lined with grass or shell fragments, usually in a marsh; nests in loose colonies. Incubation ranges from 22 to 25 days and is carried out by both parents.

Foraging and Feeding

Black-necked Stilt: Feeds on tadpoles, mollusks, water beetles and other aquatic insects, snails, small fish, flying insects, and seeds.

Vocalization

Black-necked Stilt: Song is a sharp "kip-kip-kip-kip."

Similar Species

Black-necked Stilt: American Avocet is larger, and has white on back, dark legs, and rust-brown or gray on head and neck.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Black-necked Stilt

● Song: "kek-kek-kek", "yip-yip-yip"

● Foraging & Feeding: Black-necked Stilt: Feeds on tadpoles, mollusks, water beetles and other aquatic insects, snails, small fish, flying insects, and seeds.

● Breeding & nesting: Black-necked Stilt: Three to five brown-spotted, yellow or buff eggs are laid in a shallow ground depression lined with grass or shell fragments, usually in a marsh; nests in loose colonies. Incubation ranges from 22 to 25 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Black-necked Stilt: American Avocet is larger, and has white on back, dark legs, and rust-brown or gray on head and neck.

Flight Pattern

Swift direct flight with shallow wing beats.

● Range & Habitat: Black-necked Stilt: Breeds along coasts from Oregon and Delaware southward, and locally in western interior states east to Idaho, Kansas, and Texas. Spends winters along the Pacific coast north to central California, Florida, and other Gulf coast states. Preferred habitats include salt marshes, shallow coastal bays, and freshwater marshes.

^BreedingMonogamous, Loose colonies

^PopulationFairly common to uncommon

^MigrationMost migrate

^Weight5.9 Ounces

Field Guide to Birds of North America