stilt

stilt, common name for some members of the family Recurvirostridae, shore birds including the avocet. Stilts, as their name implies, have the longest legs of any bird except the flamingo. They frequent open marshes and shallow water, wading with long strides and probing the mud for food with their long, thin bills. They are also good swimmers and fliers. Their floating nests are anchored along the edges of quiet pools. The common black-necked, or pied, stilt, Himantopus mexicanus, an elegant bird with a black back and white belly, is cosmopolitan in temperate and tropical regions. The banded stilt, Cladorhyncus leucocephalus, is found in Australia and Tasmania. Stilts are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Aves, order Charadriiformes, family Recurvirostridae.

---

stilt

Black-necked stilt (Himantopus himantopus mexicanus)

(credit: G.W. Robinson—Root Resources)

Any of certain species of shorebirds (family Recurvirostridae) that have long thin legs and a long slender bill and inhabit warm regions worldwide. Stilts, 14–18 in. (35–45 cm) long, live around ponds, probing in mud and weedy shallows for crustaceans and other small aquatic animals. The common stilt (Himantopus himantopus) is variably black-and-white with pink legs and red eyes.