Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus)
Illustration redrawn by AI from a real photograph

Black-necked Stilt

Himantopus mexicanus (Müller, PLS, 1776)

177 gWeight

The black-necked stilt (Himantopus mexicanus), also called the pied stilt, is a locally abundant shorebird of North and South American wetlands and coastlines.

Busiest months: April · Most records: United States, Chile, Mexico

Where and when it's recorded

Black-necked Stilt has been recorded at 1,195 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 55 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

  1. Riparian Preserve at Gilbert Water RanchUnited States25,360 records
  2. Estero Llano Grande SP WBCUnited States19,081 records
  3. IRWD San Joaquin Marsh & Wildlife Sanctuary, IrvineUnited States18,587 records
More places
  1. Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Ctr.United States12,953 records
  2. Santa Ana NWRUnited States11,608 records
  3. Willcox – Lake Cochise and Twin Lakes Golf CourseUnited States10,144 records
  4. South Padre Is. – WBC/Conv. Center/Laguna Madre TrailUnited States9,658 records
  5. Howard Marsh MetroparkUnited States9,055 records
  6. Mitchell Lake Audubon CenterUnited States8,940 records
  7. South Padre Is. – Birding and Nature CenterUnited States8,892 records

Countries and regions with the most records

United StatesChileMexicoArgentinaCosta RicaCanadaColombiaPuerto Rico

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The black-necked stilt (Himantopus mexicanus), also called the pied stilt, is a locally abundant shorebird of North and South American wetlands and coastlines. It is found from the coastal areas of California through much of the interior western United States and along the Gulf of Mexico as far east as Florida, then south through Central America and the Caribbean to Brazil, Peru and the Galápagos Islands, with an isolated population, the Hawaiian stilt, in Hawaii.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Black-necked Stilt?

The Black-necked Stilt weighs around 177 g.

Where does the Black-necked Stilt live?

Its breeding range: North America, Middle America, South America, Pacific Ocean: coastal and inland western, southern, southeastern USA to southwestern Peru, Galápagos and northeastern Brazil; also Hawaiian Islands. It is most often recorded in United States, Chile and Mexico.

When is the best time to see the Black-necked Stilt?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in April (Northern Hemisphere).

What does the Black-necked Stilt eat?

Main food: Fish, shrimp & shellfish.

What family is the Black-necked Stilt in?

It belongs to the family Stilts, Avocets (Recurvirostridae), order Charadriiformes.

At a glance

Weight
177 g
Habitat
Wetland
Diet
Fish, shrimp & shellfish
Lifestyle
Active on the ground
Migration
Partial migrant
More measurements
Wing
224 mm
Tail
74 mm
Bill
67 mm
Tarsus
107 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

North America, Middle America, South America, Pacific Ocean: coastal and inland western, southern, southeastern USA to southwestern Peru, Galápagos and northeastern Brazil; also Hawaiian Islands

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Classification

Family
Stilts, Avocets Recurvirostridae
Genus
Himantopus

Other birds in the genus Himantopus

Black-necked Stilt

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Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by João Vitor Andriola. ↗

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