(The Black-Necked Stilt is on the left in this photo. That's an American Avocet on the right.)
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Saturday, July 3, 2010
Black-Necked Stilt
The Black-Necked Stilt (on the left in the photo) has fallen victim to hunters and loss of habitat in past years. It was an endangered species, but is making a great comeback. There is one subspecies that is still endangered - the Hawaiian Stilt. I was surprised to see this black-necked stilt here in a local marsh. (I don't believe I saw one of them before.) The Stilt eats invertebrates it finds when it probes the bottom with its bill. They lay buff colored eggs in nests on the ground near the water.
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Black-necked Stilt is a common species in the summer months in the Texas Panhandle and, depending on the conditions, a breeder. From what I can discern, the U.S. species Himantopus mexicanus has never been endangered and is of Least Concern. However, the Hawaiian species (in some lists Stilts are all one species with many subspecies and in others there are many species of stilts) is endangered.
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