Black-necked Stilt

Himantopus mexicanus

Endemic

KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
PhylumChordata (Chordates)
ClassAves (Birds)
OrderCharadriiformes (Shorebirds and Allies)
FamilyRecurvirostridae (Stilts and Avocets)
GenusHimantopus (Typical Stilts)
SpeciesHimantopus mexicanus (Black-necked Stilt)

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

at Tikal National Park

3 Verified sightings at Tikal National Park From 2019 to 2026

11,697 Verified sightings across all 78 parks From 2019 to 2026

☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted during daytime hours (6am–6pm)

About the Black-necked Stilt

The black-necked stilt (Himantopus mexicanus), also called the pied stilt, is a locally abundant shorebird of North and South American wetlands and coastlines. It is found from the coastal areas of California through much of the interior western United States and along the Gulf of Mexico as far east as Florida, then south through Central America and the Caribbean to Brazil, Peru and the Galápagos Islands, with an isolated population, the Hawaiian stilt, in Hawaii. The northernmost populations, particularly those from inland, are migratory, wintering from the extreme south of the United States to southern Mexico, rarely as far south as Costa Rica; on the Baja California peninsula it is only found regularly in winter. Some authorities, including the IUCN, treat it as a synonym of Himantopus himantopus.

The black-necked stilt was formally described in 1776 as Charadrius mexicanus by the German zoologist Philipp Statius Müller. The species is now placed in the genus Himantopus that was introduced in 1760 by the French ornithologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson.

Three subspecies are recognised: H. m. knudseni Stejneger, LH, 1887 – main Hawaiian Islands H. m. mexicanus (Müller... Wikipedia →

Closest Relatives at Tikal National Park

Jacana spinosa

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

Actitis macularius

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Tringa solitaria

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Leucophaeus atricilla

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Calidris minutilla

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Thalasseus maximus

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Global Distribution

Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.

where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there

Parks Where Found

#	Park	Country	Daily sighting probability
1	Celestún Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	~50%
2	Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	~50%
3	Palo Verde National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	~50%
4	Jaragua National Park	🇩🇴 Dominican Republic	~40%
5	Iberá National Park	🇦🇷 Argentina	~30%
6	Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park	🇲🇽 Mexico	~20%
7	Galápagos Islands	🇪🇨 Ecuador	~20%
8	El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	~20%
9	Lago de Yojoa	🇭🇳 Honduras	~20%
10	Ciénaga de Zapata	🇨🇺 Cuba	~20%
11	Cordillera Azul National Park	🇵🇪 Peru	~20%
12	Machalilla National Park	🇪🇨 Ecuador	~10%
13	Caroni Swamp	🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago	~10%
14	Death Valley National Park	🇺🇸 United States	~10%
15	Cerro Azul Meámbar National Park	🇭🇳 Honduras	~10%
16	Los Haitises National Park	🇩🇴 Dominican Republic	~10%
17	Cañón del Sumidero National Park	🇲🇽 Mexico	~10%
18	Channel Islands National Park	🇺🇸 United States	~10%
19	El Impenetrable National Park	🇦🇷 Argentina	~10%
20	Paracas National Reserve	🇵🇪 Peru	~10%
21	Everglades National Park	🇺🇸 United States	~10%
22	Carara National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	~10%
23	Tortuguero National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	~10%
24	Santa Rosa National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
25	Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	<5%
26	Big Cypress National Preserve	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
27	Cahuita National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
28	Henri Pittier National Park	🇻🇪 Venezuela	<5%
29	Tayrona National Natural Park	🇨🇴 Colombia	<5%
30	La Amistad International Park (Panama)	🇵🇦 Panama	<5%
31	Calakmul Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	<5%
32	Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
33	Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	<5%
34	Bastimentos Island National Marine Park	🇵🇦 Panama	<5%
35	Saguaro National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
36	Parque Estadual Encontro das Águas	🇧🇷 Brazil	<5%
37	Chagres National Park	🇵🇦 Panama	<5%
38	Las Baulas Marine National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
39	Soberanía National Park	🇵🇦 Panama	<5%
40	Elk Island National Park	🇨🇦 Canada	<5%
41	Manuel Antonio National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
42	Grand Canyon National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
43	Corcovado National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
44	Joshua Tree National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
45	Yellowstone National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
46	Piedras Blancas National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
47	Iguaçu National Park	🇧🇷 Brazil	<5%
48	Big Bend National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
49	Arenal Volcano National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
50	Iguazú National Park	🇦🇷 Argentina	<5%
51	Darién National Park	🇵🇦 Panama	<5%
52	Glacier National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
53	Península Valdés	🇦🇷 Argentina	Insufficient data
54	Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
55	El Palmar National Park	🇦🇷 Argentina	Insufficient data
56	Emas National Park	🇧🇷 Brazil	Insufficient data
57	Ostional Wildlife Refuge	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
58	Bahía de Loreto National Park	🇲🇽 Mexico	Insufficient data
59	Biotopo Cerro Cahuí	🇬🇹 Guatemala	Insufficient data
60	Sierra de la Macarena National Park	🇨🇴 Colombia	Insufficient data
61	Amacayacu National Natural Park	🇨🇴 Colombia	Insufficient data
62	Huascarán National Park	🇵🇪 Peru	Insufficient data
63	Tijuca National Park	🇧🇷 Brazil	Insufficient data
64	Serra da Canastra National Park	🇧🇷 Brazil	Insufficient data
65	Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park	🇨🇱 Chile	Insufficient data
66	Chapada Diamantina National Park	🇧🇷 Brazil	Insufficient data
67	Nahuel Huapi National Park	🇦🇷 Argentina	Insufficient data
68	Marino Ballena National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
69	Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
70	Parque Natural Metropolitano	🇵🇦 Panama	Insufficient data
71	Rincón de la Vieja National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
72	Zion National Park	🇺🇸 United States	Insufficient data
73	Tikal National Park	🇬🇹 Guatemala	Insufficient data
74	Grand Teton National Park	🇺🇸 United States	Insufficient data
75	Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks	🇺🇸 United States	Insufficient data
76	Tambopata National Reserve	🇵🇪 Peru	Insufficient data
77	Farallones de Cali National Natural Park	🇨🇴 Colombia	Insufficient data
78	Tenorio Volcano National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data

← Back to Tikal National Park

Black-necked Stilt

About the Black-necked Stilt

Closest Relatives at Tikal National Park

Northern Jacana

Spotted Sandpiper

Solitary Sandpiper

Laughing Gull

Least Sandpiper

Royal Tern

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found