Black-winged Stilt

Himantopus himantopus

Not Evaluated · IUCN Red List

NENot EvaluatedInvertebratesWetlandPlatform nestMedium · 177 g

What the Black-winged Stilt sounds like

Sonogram of the Black-winged Stilt: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Sonothèque ADVL · Alarm call · Arrondissement of Avranches (near Saint-Jean-le-Thomas), Manche, Normandy, France · CC0 · via xeno-canto
Sonogram of the Black-winged Stilt: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Sonothèque ADVL · Call · Saint-Jean-le-Thomas, Manche, Normandie, France · CC0 · via xeno-canto
Sonogram of the Black-winged Stilt: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Sonothèque ADVL · Flight call · Pontorson, Manche, Normandie, France · CC0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

Adults are 33–36 cm (13–14 in) long, with long, pink legs, and a long, rather thin black bill. The birds are generally black above and white below, with a white head and neck (with a varying amount of black, species-dependent). Males have a black back, often with a greenish gloss or sheen. Females' backs have a brownish hue, contrasting with the black remiges. In populations where the top of the head is normally white (at least in winter), females tend to have less black on the head and neck the entire year-round, while males often have much more black, particularly in summer.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Black-winged Stilt

One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is April, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Black-winged Stilt

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 140 countries with regular records, and 11 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

Recorded as a rare visitor in Finland, United States, New Zealand, Brazil, Cuba, Argentina, Colombia, French Guiana, St. Barthélemy, St. Martin, Jersey.

About the Black-winged Stilt

The black-winged stilt is a widely distributed, very long-legged wader in the avocet and stilt family Recurvirostridae. Its scientific name, Himantopus himantopus, is sometimes used to generalize a single, almost cosmopolitan species. Alternatively, it is restricted to the form that is widespread in Europe, Asia and Africa, which equals the nominate group of H. himantopus sensu lato. Meanwhile, the black-necked and white-backed stilts both inhabit the Americas; the pied stilt ranges from Australia and New Zealand. Today, most sources accept between one and four actual species.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Side by side: Black-necked Stilt vs Black-winged Stilt · Black-winged Stilt vs Pied Stilt

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