The Story
I photographed this Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus) at Hacienda La Cabaña, near Tauramena, Casanare, Colombia, in January 2020. It lives in wetlands and along coasts from the western United States south to Brazil, Peru and the Galápagos. It has long pink legs and a long, thin black bill. It forages by probing and picking at prey on mudflats, lakeshores and flooded fields, taking shrimp, insects, mollusks, small fish and tadpoles. It has a moderate tolerance for people and is usually found below 1,600 meters.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/160 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200. IUCN lists the Black-winged Stilt, which in its treatment includes this bird, as Least Concern, with a stable population.
©2020 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus) belongs to the family Recurvirostridae (Stilts and Avocets) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2025), with the population trend listed as stable. IUCN does not yet assess the Black-necked Stilt separately; this is the assessment of Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus), which IUCN treats as including it. Source: IUCN Red List