Black-necked Stilt
Learn to identify the Black-necked Stilt by ear. Master the "kip-kip-kip-kip…" phrase and tell it apart from similar species.
What the Black-necked Stilt sounds like
A rapid run of high, piping kip notes from an excited bird. The calls can carry sharply over an open wetland.
How to tell it apart
Where you'll hear it
Year-round along Pacific and Gulf coasts of the United States south through Mexico, the Caribbean, and much of Central & South America; summer breeder across interior western and southern United States and Baja; scarce visitor farther north.
Shallow freshwater and alkaline wetlands, salt ponds, flooded agricultural fields, sewage lagoons, mangrove lagoons, and tidal mudflats.
Breeds mainly April–August in loose colonies; post-breeding flocks gather late summer; northern birds migrate southward September–October and return March–May; coastal populations often remain all year.
How to recognize it by sight
Slender, black-and-white shorebird instantly recognizable by its extremely long pink legs and needle-thin bill. Often seen gracefully picking prey from the surface of shallow water or wading belly-deep while constantly calling to companions.