Black-winged Stilt

Himantopus himantopus

All legs. Wades in water where other birds would drown, then takes your message somewhere drier.

Population: 486,000–2,690,000 mature individuals globally (stable trend)
Habitat: Shallow freshwater and brackish wetlands — marshes, swamps, shallow lake and pond edges, riverbeds, and flooded or rice fields for breeding; coastal lagoons, estuaries, river deltas, and mudflats in the non-breeding season
Fun fact: The genus name Himantopus comes from Greek for "strap-foot," a nod to the black-winged stilt's extraordinarily long, slender pink legs, which are proportionally the longest of any bird relative to body size except flamingos.
Range: Nearly cosmopolitan across the Old World: breeds and winters through Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australasia; partially migratory, with birds in temperate regions moving to coasts and warmer regions in winter while tropical populations are largely resident (New World and Hawaiian populations are now generally treated as the separate species Himantopus mexicanus, not this species)
Diet: Aquatic invertebrates — insects and their larvae, worms, small crustaceans, molluscs, and spiders — picked from the water's surface or shallow mud while wading; occasionally small seeds
Size: 0.37 m
Wingspan: 0.75 m
Lifespan: 12 years

More Cranes & Waders