Black-Winged Stilt

Black-Winged Stilt (Himantopus Himantopus) lives in Southern area of Western Plaearctic region, in Southern Asia and in Africa. In Europe is widespread in coastal areas of Black Sea and in the Northern area of Caspian Sea, in Eastern Europe, in Italy, in France, in Spain and in Portugal, but also in Belgium, Holland, Germany and England. It has an elegant posture and it is also gregarious. Black-Winged Stilt (Himantopus Himantopus) prefers shallow waters of brackish waters, flood areas and paddy fields. During nesting period it lives in ground where there is a lot of vegetation and in sandy areas, whereas in the other seasons we can find it in lakes shores, in ponds and in rivers. Black-Winged Stilt (Himantopus Himantopus) eats small invertebrates, aquatic entities, insects and small mollusk which are hunted with the long beak that allows to eat both in the surface and at sea bottom. Also many plants seeds complete the diet in winter period. Breeding starts between April and May, eggs are brownish and pear-shaped and are brood by both parents for 3-4 weeks. Nest is inside a hole, near water areas. A few days later hatch, babies leave nest. Anyway they are supervised by both parents till they are able to fly. Paws of Black-Winged Stilt (Himantopus Himantopus) are long, thin and red-pink, beak is black, long, thin and straight, iris is red and plumage has a black and white color. In its winter plumage, male has a totally white color for forehead and head, whereas nape and vertex are grey or dark grey, back has a brilliant black color with green reflexes whereas the rest of body is white. Female of Black-Winged Stilt (Himantopus Himantopus) is very similar to male but nape tends to a brownish color and sometimes coat and shoulder color tends to white. The young bring adults colors after 2-3 years they are born. During flight, Black-Winged Stilt (Himantopus Himantopus) is easily recognizable because of the triangle-shaped position of wings which are clutched and black, and also because of the complete extension of neck and paws. That are all features which allow to a very fast and straight flight.