Black-Necked Stilts
by Terri Mills
Title
Black-Necked Stilts
Artist
Terri Mills
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
I came upon two Black-Necked Stilts while out driving the other day and just had to get a picture of them! I love how they just hang around standing on one leg. These aren't very big birds and those legs look like they go on forever!!!
Copyright Terri Mills All Rights Reserved
Description taken from Florida Nature:
http://www.floridiannature.com/index.htm
Black-Necked Stilt- With its black and white plumage, long, thin red legs, and long neck, the Black-necked Stilt is both striking and delicate in appearance. It is a medium-sized shorebird with a black needle-like bill, black or dark brown upperparts, and a white breast. The iris is red, and there is a white spot above the eye. Breeding males have glossy black wings, back, and back of neck, and a pink tinge on the breast. Non-breeding males lack the glossiness and pink tinge. Adult females have a brown tinge to the back. Juveniles have brown upperparts with buff feather margins, and a white trailing edge to the wing in flight. Five species of rather similar-looking stilts are recognized in the genus Himantopus. They have the second-longest legs in proportion to their bodies of any bird, exceeded only by flamingos. This bird's habitat includes salt ponds, rice fields, shallow lagoons, and mangrove swamps. Black-necked Stilts most often consume aquatic invertebrates. They also sometimes eat tadpoles, tiny fish, and seeds of aquatic plants. Pairs form on wintering grounds, during migration, or on breeding grounds; pairs remain monogamous throughout the breeding season. Both sexes choose the nest site, which is often on a small island in the marsh.
Uploaded
May 23rd, 2010
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