Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus) | Species | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Male. Taken at Barranco Cabras, Fuerteventura, on March 15th 2018. (1/500th sec at f13. Click image for larger version. © David Hastings) DescriptionL: 33 - 36 cm An unmistakable bird, with a long, thin beak, very long reddish-pink legs, and black-and-white plumage. Males have an all-black back. In females this has a brownish hue. The amount of black on the head varies. This species occurs in most of the warmer parts of southern and southeastern Europe, southern Asia and north Africa. It is an occasional vagrant to the UK. Its breeding habitat is marshes, shallow lakes and ponds. The nest site is a bare spot on the ground near water. Black-winged Stilts often nest in small groups, sometimes with Avocets. This species is regarded as being of Least Concern in the IUCN classification. Sightings
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