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 Black-necked
StiltWith their sharp black-and-white plumage, slim silhouette, and improbably long, bright-red legs, Black-necked Stilts are arguably the most striking shorebird in North America. Black-necked Stilts grace a variety of shallow wetland habitats, the picture of elegance as they step through the water picking at prey. Upon the approach of a predator, however, Black-necked Stilts become quite demonstrative, aggressive, and vocal, dive-bombing intruders and performing various noisy, elaborate distraction displays. The distribution of Black-necked Stilts in North America is patchy, covering appropriate habitat across much of the western United States and the Atlantic coast during summer. Most Black-necked Stilts that breed in the United States migrate south in winter, but populations in the Central Valley of California, southern California, and the Gulf Coast are resident year-round. An endangered subspecies of Black-necked Stilt, known as the Hawaiian Stilt, breeds in coastal wetlands on six of the major Hawaiian islands. Black-necked Stilts winter throughout much of Mexico, including Baja California, and on both coasts of Central America. Resident Black-necked Stilts may be found year-round throughout much of the Mexican interior and coastal areas, throughout the Caribbean, and in Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, the Galapagos Islands, and northeast Brazil. Black-necked Stilt Range Map Black-necked Stilts inhabit shallow saltwater and freshwater wetlands, pond edges, and flooded fields. Their diet consists of brine shrimp and brine flies, other aquatic insects and insect larvae, small fish, snails, and frogs. Black-necked Stilts forage by wading through the water, picking and jabbing with their bills, and sometimes submerging their heads and upper breasts to nab prey. They also sweep their bills from side to side as they walk, in a manner similar to the foraging of American Avocets. In the western United States, agricultural irrigation has led to contamination of waters in the breeding grounds of Black-necked Stilts. The most extensively documented contaminant is selenium, which accumulates in irrigation water through recycling and evaporation. In the 1980s, selenium contamination from irrigation drainage water diverted into the Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge in the Central Valley of California resulted in widespread developmental deformities and subsequent breeding failure among Black-necked Stilts. This problem has since been observed in the evaporation ponds of the Tulare Lake basin of California as well. Black-necked Stilts are much more vulnerable to selenium contamination than other species, including the closely related American Avocet. Vulnerability to other contaminants are also a concern; the livers of juvenile and adult Black-necked Stilts in former mining areas of Nevada show elevated levels of mercury as well as selenium. Nests are located on the ground, often on human-made dikes. Some nests are entirely in the open, while others are at least partially concealed by vegetation. Nests may be simple unlined scrapes in the ground, or may have linings of grass, feathers, stones, shells, or other available material. When rising water levels threaten their nests, Black-necked Stilts insert twigs or other vegetation under the lining, resulting in height differences of up to four inches, and, in some cases, horizontal shifts of the nest location of more than 18 inches. Clutches usually consist of four well-camouflaged eggs. Both parents incubate eggs as necessary throughout the day or night. When ambient temperatures are hot or incident sunlight is intense, Black-necked Stilt parents cool their eggs by wetting their belly feathers before settling on the nest. Upon hatching, chicks are able to leave the nest on foot within an hour or two, and can swim within one day. Black-necked Stilt parents are very aggressive toward the offspring of other Black-necked Stilts or American Avocets, pecking the young birds repeatedly in the back of the head. Though they are territorial during the breeding season, neighboring Black-necked Stilts also communally defend their young, mobbing and even physically striking Northern Harriers or other predators. Black-necked Stilts also perform various distraction displays, which include spreading wings, feigning incubation at locations away from actual nests, circling in flight, and perhaps most strikingly, encircling a predator in groups, hopping and flapping. A variety of loud, incessant alarm calls generally accompany mobbing and distraction activity. Description: Black-necked Stilts are tall, slim shorebirds with extremely long legs. Length from bill to tail tip is about 14 inches. Legs are bright red; they measure about 7 inches long, and extend far beyond tail tip in flight. Adults males have black upperparts, nape, and cap, and white bellies, chests, throats, and faces. During breeding season, black plumage shows a distinct gloss. Adult females and juveniles resemble adult males, but with brownish (females) or grayish (juveniles) backs and napes. Legs of juveniles are not as bright as those of adults. For all ages and sexes, bills are thin, black, delicate, and very slightly upturned. Voice: Black-necked Stilts issue various loud, insistent, calls, especially in response to the presence of predators. Such calls may be characterized as yipping and yapping, chattering, and/or rasping. Visit Shaw
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