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Black-winged Stilt
Himantopus himantopus
Audubon Illustration
John James Audubon, Birds of America (1827-1838). Public domain.
Migration Flyway
Showing primary migration corridor(s) for this species
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About the Black-winged Stilt
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. Meanwhile, the black-necked (H. mexicanus) and white-backed stilts (H. melanurus) both inhabit the Americas; the pied stilt (H. leucocephalus) ranges from Australia and New Zealand. Today, most sources accept between one and four actual species.
Source: Wikipedia
Classification
- Scientific name
- Himantopus himantopus
- Family
- Stilts and Avocets
- Order
- Charadriiformes
Similar species
Other members of the stilts and avocets family recorded in North America — a useful place to start if you are not certain of your identification.
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Optics
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