...You’ll See the Things Worth Seeing
The Black-necked Stilt:
A striking black-and-white bird with very long, thin red legs. Black-necked Stilts have the second-longest legs in proportion to their bodies of any bird, exceeded only by flamingos.
Black-necked Stilts inhabit shallow wetlands from the western United States to Central America and parts of South America. In the United States, Black-necked Stilts are commonly found in salt ponds, flooded lowlands, or shallow lagoons.
Black-necked Stilts wade in shallow waters to capture their meals of aquatic invertebrates and fish. They often consume such fare as crawfish, brine flies, brine shrimp, beetles, water boatmen, and tadpoles.
They peck, snatch, and plunge their heads into the water in pursuit of their food, and will herd fish into shallow waters to trap them there. Black-necked Stilts wade for their food, and will only swim or dive when under duress.
During breeding and during winter, they are strongly territorial birds, and are particularly aggressive to chicks that are not their own. When not breeding, Black-necked Stilts roost and forage in closely packed groups.
(200-600 @ 362 mm, 1/1600 @ f/8, ISO 320, edited to taste)
Loading contexts...
