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Black-necked Stilt

Himantopus mexicanusOrder: CHARADRIIFORMESFamily: Avocets and Stilts (Recurvirostridae)

Black-necked Stilt Portrait
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General

Black-necked Stilt: Large shorebird with sharply contrasting black upperparts and white underparts. Bill is long, thin and upcurved. Legs are extremely long and red-pink. Female is similar but with brown-tinged upperparts. Juvenile appears grizzled with white-tipped feathers on head and shoulders.

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.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"kek-kek-kek", "yip-yip-yip"

Interesting Facts

 The Black-necked Stilt was first described 1776 by Philipp Ludwig Statius Müller, a German zoologist.

 They have the second-longest legs in proportion to their bodies of any bird, exceeded only by flamingos.

 They feed in both salt and fresh water on half webbed feet that allow them to swim, although they rarely do.



Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Black-necked Stilt
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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.
Family Avocets and Stilts (Recurvirostridae)_blue
Species Himantopus mexicanus
Length14 - 15.5 Inches
Wingspan26 Inches

Black-necked Stilt

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.

● 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.
Black-necked Stilt Body Illustration
● 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