Colours

Distinguishing features

They have long pink legs, a long thin black bill and are blackish above and white below, with a white head and neck with a varying amount of black. Males have a black back, often with greenish gloss. Females' backs have a brown hue, contrasting with the black remiges.

In the populations that have the top of the head normally white at least in winter, females tend to have less black on head and neck all year round, while males often have more black, particularly in summer. This difference is not clear-cut, however, and males usually get all-white heads in winter.

Immature birds are grey instead of black and have a markedly sandy hue on the wings, with light feather fringes appearing as a whitish line in flight. (Wikipedia)

Size

Wingspan

Synonyms

Similar taxa

Distribution

Distribution and habitat preferences

It is now widely accepted that the scientific name , which was formerly applied to a single almost cosmopolitan species, is now normally applied only to the widespread form from Eurasia and Africa.

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; those in warmer regions are generally resident or short-range vagrants. (Wikipedia)

Local abundance

Diet

They mainly eat insects and crustaceans, found in sand or shallow water.

Web resources

References