Pied Stilt (Himantopus leucocephalus)

Pied Stilt (Himantopus leucocephalus (Gould, 1837))

Scientific name: Himantopus leucocephalus (Gould, 1837)
Common name: Pied Stilt
Other names: White-headed Stilt.
French name: Échasse d'Australie
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Recurvirostridae
Size: Body size: 33 to 40 cm; Weight: 135 to 290 g; Wingspan: 67 to 83 cm.
Habitat: Proximity to shallow bodies of water, freshwater marshes and wet meadows, estuaries and sandy areas.
Food: Aquatic invertebrates (crustaceans, worms, insect larvae) and terrestrial invertebrates (larvae, insects, spiders).
Nesting: Pied Stilts nest in small colonies. The nest is a large cup of dry grass on the ground in a small depression near water. There are usually 3 to 4 eggs per clutch.
Migration: Mainly sedentary. Some birds migrate to the Philippines, Borneo, Indonesia and India during the southern winter.
Geographic area: Malaysia, Japan, Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand.

Pied Stilts have long thin pink legs.
The bill is long, straight, thin and black.
The plumage is black and white with black wings, back and upper neck.
A long black stripe extends across the back of the neck, from the nape to a half-collar at the base of the neck. This is the main difference from the Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus). Some consider the Pied Stilt as a subspecies of the Black-winged Stilt.