Black-necked Stilt
Himantopus mexicanus

Description 13-16" (33-41 cm). A slender, long-legged shorebird. Black above, white below; head patterned in black and white; neck long; bill long and thin; legs very long, red, and slender.

Voice A sharp kip-kip-kip-kip.

Habitat Salt marshes, shallow coastal bays, and freshwater marshes.

Nesting 3 or 4 buff eggs, spotted with brown, in a shallow depression lined with grass or shell fragments in a marsh. Nests in loose colonies.

Range Breeds along coasts from Oregon and Delaware southward, and locally in western interior states east to Idaho, Kansas, and Texas. Winters along Pacific Coast north to central California; also in Florida and other Gulf Coast states.

Discussion Noisy and conspicuous, Black-necked Stilts have declined due to hunting and habitat destruction. In the nesting season they are particularly aggressive and will often fly low over an intruder-their long red legs trailing behind them-uttering a sharp alarm call.

Seasonal Distribution