All species › Waders, gulls and terns › Avocets and stilts › Black-winged Stilt
Black-winged Stilt | Himantopus himantopus
Steltkluut | Cigüeñuela común
The Black-winged Stilt is the Old World counterpart of the Black-necked Stilt: the same slender shape on long pink legs, but with a largely white head and neck. In the Caribbean it is a very rare vagrant, not a native species. Some authors treat both stilts as one species; this guide follows the arrangement in which they are separate.
Voice
A sharp, yelping kek or keek, repeated in series, similar to the call of the Black-necked Stilt.
Recording: Swann Terrier — CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · converted to mono · xeno-canto
Identification
33–36 cm, with a long, thin, straight black bill and very long pink to red legs. Back and wings are black, in the female with a brown tinge to the back; head, neck and underparts are white. There may be a grey to black patch on the crown and hindneck, which varies greatly but never forms a continuous black hood joining the back. Juveniles are grey-brown above with pale feather fringes. In flight the wings are entirely black, without white markings, and the legs project far beyond the tail.
Confusion species
Black-necked Stilt Himantopus mexicanus, common in the region, has a black head and hindneck joining the black back, with a distinct white spot above the eye. Birds with an unusual amount of black on the head and neck occur in both species, and possible hybrids cannot be ruled out; a claim therefore needs good photographs of the head and neck.
Habitat
In the region most likely in salt pans, lagoons and marshes with shallow water, often among Black-necked Stilts. It forages by wading in shallow water and picking small invertebrates from the surface.
Where the bird is most at home, classified by the vegetation types of the Caribbean.
Range and movements
Only a few records are known from the region, mainly from the Lesser Antilles, including Guadeloupe; some reports from other islands are poorly documented. The birds presumably arrive by crossing the ocean from West Africa or Europe, as other Old World shorebirds also turn up in the Lesser Antilles. Beyond the region the species breeds in southern Europe, Africa and much of Asia; European birds largely winter in Africa.
How and when to look
A white-headed stilt among Black-necked Stilts is worth checking. Important points are the extent of black on the hindneck and nape, the absence of the white spot above the eye and the colour of the back; photographs of the head from the side and from behind are essential for assessment.
Conservation status
Not globally threatened. In the Caribbean a vagrant with no regular presence; there is no evidence of a trend.
Scientific name
Himantopus himantopus | (Linnaeus, 1758)
Linnaeus described the species in 1758 as Charadrius Himantopus; because it was later moved to another genus, the author and year stand in brackets. The genus Himantopus was introduced in 1760 by Brisson. Himantopus is Greek, from himas 'strap, thong' and pous 'foot': 'strap-foot', after the long thin legs. The specific name repeats the genus name. The specimen the first description was based on came from southern Europe.