Archipelago Wildlife Library

The calls of Himatopus himantopus are varied from a sharp, strident “kyep”, repeated “kreeek kreeek”, “kek kek” to “kiu” sounds. Black-winged Stilt calls can be recognised by a distinctive nasal, slightly bleating and tinny ring ⁽³⁾.

Being gregarious, Black-winged Stilts are often in small groups of up to 15 individuals. Some birds will breed solitarily while others breed in colonies numbering up to several hundred pairs ⁽⁶⁾. They may congregate in large flocks of up to a thousand birds for migration, in the winter and for roosting ⁽⁶⁾. They are generally not territorial birds, but in the breeding season they will defend and compete for nest sites ⁽⁷⁾.

Black-winged Stilts inhabit saline and freshwater wetlands, from coastal lagoons, mudflats, salt flats, seasonally flooded grasslands, rice paddies, marshes, rivers, saline, brackish and freshwater lakes ⁽⁶⁾.  They are more common in saline habitats ⁽³⁾.

The breeding season is from April to June. During breeding, shallow water habitats are preferred with 360˚ visibility ⁽⁶⁾. Nests are shallow and constructed in mud or sand, lined with leaves and grass ⁽⁵⁾. One brood of three to four eggs is laid after an incubation lasting on average 24 days ^{(5) (4)}. Black-winged Stilts can be solitary breeders, or form lose colonies of two to 50 pairs, or larger colonies of several hundred pairs, which helps as defence from aerial predators ⁽⁷⁾.

The IUCN lists the Black-winged Stilt as native to most of Europe excluding Scandinavia. It is also native to the African continent, and across Asia to Japan and Southeast Asia ⁽⁶⁾. The global population estimates vary from 360,000 to 2.3 million individuals, across an estimated global Extent of Occurrence of 10 million km² ⁽⁶⁾.

In August to November northern birds migrate to Africa, south of the Sahara, and mediterranean populations winter locally ^{(3) (6)}. In March and April they return to their northern breeding grounds ⁽⁶⁾.

Himantopus himatopus feed upon adult and larval aquatic insects and other small aquatic invertebrates such as crustaceans and molluscs.  Tadpoles, small fish, fish eggs, are also taken from the water surface ^{(4) (5) (6)}. Seeds are occasionally eaten ⁽⁶⁾.  A polychaete worm, the Lugworm (Arenicola marina) is an important diet component for wading birds ⁽⁸⁾. With its long beak, the Black-winged Stilt can reach the lugworm within its tunnel.

The Brown Rat (Rattus novegicus), although known for dwelling amongst human habitats, also dwells in fields and marshes ⁽⁸⁾. It has been found to be the main predator of Himantopus himantopus eggs in colonial populations in Southwest Spain ⁽⁷⁾.

IUCN Red List = Least concern ⁽¹⁾

Description written by Maite Guignard (2009)

(1)   IUCN (2009) IUCN Red List of Threatened Species [online] Available:

http://www.iucnredlist.org [date accessed: 22/06/2009]

(2)   Bird Life International (2009) Species Factsheet: Himantopus novaezelandiae [online] Available:

http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=3103&m=0 [date accessed: 05/05/2009]

(3)   Jonsson. L. (1992) Birds of Europe, Christopher Helm Ltd, London

(4)   Perrins. C. (1987) Collins New Generation Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe, Collins, London

(5)   Hume. R. (2002) RSPB Complete Birds of Britain and Europe, Dorling Kindersley, London

(6)   Bird Life International (2008) Species factsheet: Himantopus himantopus [online] Available:

http://www.birdlife.org [date accessed: 05/05/2009]

(7)   Cuervo. J.J. (2005) Hatching success in Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta and Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus, Bird Study, 52:166–172

(8)   Sterry. P. (2000) Complete Mediterranean Wildlife, Harpers Collins Publishers, London