Black-winged Stilt

Himantopus himantopus (Linnaeus, 1758)

35 cmLength177 gWeight

It is a boldly black-and-white bird with very long, slender legs that trail behind the tail in flight.

Busiest months: April · Most records: Spain, China, India

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

Legs extremely long and pink
Bill black, long and slender
Upperparts black; underparts white
Long legs trail behind tail in flight

Male, female and young

Male often has more black on the head and neck, especially in summer; female has less and a browner back, but the differences are not absolute. Immature is grayish-brown.

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: April · Most records: Spain, China, India

Black-winged Stilt has been recorded at 2,429 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 126 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Desembocadura del Guadalhorce – ÁreaSpain6,231 records
International Birding and Research Center Eilat (IBRCE)Israel5,715 records
Changaram Wetlands – EzhupunnaIndia3,942 records

More places

Eilat – KM20 Flamingo Pools 20Israel3,815 records
Mai Po Nature ReserveHong Kong (China)3,330 records
Private estate near Green MubazzarahUnited Arab Emirates3,267 records
Bharatpur – Keoladeo Ghana NPIndia3,191 records
Strandfontein WTPSouth Africa2,753 records
Lagoa dos SalgadosPortugal2,726 records
Aogu Wetland IBATaiwan (China)2,589 records

Countries and regions with the most records

Spain China India Portugal Israel Thailand South Africa United Arab Emirates

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-winged stilt (Himantopus himantopus) is a widely distributed, very long-legged wader in the avocet and stilt family Recurvirostridae. Its scientific name, Himantopus himantopus, is sometimes used to generalize a single, almost cosmopolitan species. Alternatively, it is restricted to the form that is widespread in Europe, Asia and Africa, which equals the nominate group of H. himantopus sensu lato.

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

Questions

How big is the Black-winged Stilt?

The Black-winged Stilt is about 35 cm long and weighs around 177 g.

Where does the Black-winged Stilt live?

Its breeding range: Palearctic, Africa, Oriental: coastal and inland south to east-central Europe, Sal (northeastern Cape Verde Islands, southern Macaronesia, west of northwestern Africa); northern and Sub-Saharan Africa, Socotra, and coastal Madagascar; through southwestern Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia to southeastern Russia, northeastern, eastern China, locally Honshu and Shikoku (south-central Japan), Taiwan (China), Semirara (east-central Philippines), south to northern Middle East, Indian subcontinent to Sri Lanka, Malay Peninsula, Vietnam, northern Sumatra and western Java. It is most often recorded in Spain, China and India.

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

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

Is the Black-winged Stilt endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Black-winged Stilt as Least Concern.

What does the Black-winged Stilt eat?

Main food: Fish, shrimp & shellfish.

What family is the Black-winged Stilt in?

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

At a glance

Length: 35 cm
Weight: 177 g
Habitat: Wetland
Diet: Fish, shrimp & shellfish
Lifestyle: Active on the ground
Migration: Partial migrant
Conservation: Least Concern

More measurements

Wing: 226 mm
Tail: 79 mm
Bill: 65 mm
Tarsus: 116 mm

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

Range

Palearctic, Africa, Oriental: coastal and inland south to east-central Europe, Sal (northeastern Cape Verde Islands, southern Macaronesia, west of northwestern Africa); northern and Sub-Saharan Africa, Socotra, and coastal Madagascar; through southwestern Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia to southeastern Russia, northeastern, eastern China, locally Honshu and Shikoku (south-central Japan), Taiwan (China), Semirara (east-central Philippines), south to northern Middle East, Indian subcontinent to Sri Lanka, Malay Peninsula, Vietnam, northern Sumatra and western Java

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2