Black-winged Stilt
Himantopus himantopus
Summary 2
The Black-winged Stilt, Common Stilt, or Pied Stilt (Himantopus himantopus) is a widely distributed very long-legged wader in the avocet and stilt family (Recurvirostridae). Opinions differ as to whether the birds treated under the scientific name H. himantopus ought to be treated as a single species and if not, how many species to recognize. The scientific name Himantopus comes from the Greek meaning "strap foot" or "thong foot". Most sources today accept 2–4 species.
The breeding habitat of all these stilts is marshes, shallow lakes and ponds. Some populations are migratory and move to the ocean coasts in winter.
W Europe and Mediterranean region to Central Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar, South and Southeast Asia; localized breeder in East Asia (e.g. Taiwan) but more widespread during winter; has become a regular migrant to the Marianas and Saipan and sometimes is seen on other islands in western Micronesia (e.g. Koror, Ngeriungs Islet and Peleliu of Palau) since the late 20th-century. NW populations migrate south to Africa in winter.
ssp himantopus, Palawan. 3
Sources and Credits
- (c) Carmelo López Abad, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Carmelo López Abad
- Adapted by Carmelo López Abad from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himantopus_himantopus
- (c) Carmelo López Abad, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
