Black-winged Stilt
Himantopus himantopus
Silhouette: Edwin Price · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderCharadriiformes (Shorebirds and Allies)
- FamilyRecurvirostridae (Stilts and Avocets)
- GenusHimantopus (Typical Stilts)
- SpeciesHimantopus himantopus (Black-winged Stilt)
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.
The black-winged stilt was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. He placed it with the plovers in the genus Charadrius and coined the binomial name Charadrius himantopus. He specified the type locality as southern Europe. The taxonomic name Himantopus comes from Greek, meaning "strap-foot" or "thong-foot". The black-winged stilt is now one of five species placed in the genus Himantopus that was introduced by the French naturalist Mathurin Jacques Brisson... Wikipedia →
Recent sightings of Black-winged Stilt in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
LIVEiNaturalistClosest Relatives at Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
Pied Avocet
Recurvirostra avosetta
Crowned Lapwing
Vanellus coronatus
Spotted Thick-knee
Burhinus capensis
African Jacana
Actophilornis africanus
Double-banded Courser
Rhinoptilus africanus
Bronze-winged Courser
Rhinoptilus chalcopterus
Green Sandpiper
Tringa ochropus
Ruff
Calidris pugnax
Greater Painted-Snipe
Rostratula benghalensis
Blacksmith Lapwing
Vanellus armatus
Common Greenshank
Tringa nebularia
Burchell's Courser
Cursorius rufus
Global Distribution
Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Black-winged Stilt in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park?
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Black-winged Stilt sighting in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, based on 10 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Black-winged Stilt in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park?
January has the highest sighting rate for Black-winged Stilt in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park in our monthly data.