# Stilt

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{{Short description|Common name for several species of bird}}
{{About|the type of bird|other uses}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = Stilt
| image = Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus) (44730874990).jpg
| image_caption = Adult [black-winged stilt](/source/black-winged_stilt) in Tanzania
| taxon = Himantopus
| authority = [Brisson](/source/Mathurin_Jacques_Brisson), 1760
| type_species = ''[Charadrius himantopus](/source/Black-winged_stilt)''
| type_species_authority = [Linnaeus](/source/Carl_Linnaeus), 1758
| subdivision_ranks = 
| subdivision = 
}}

'''Stilt''' is a common name for several species of [bird](/source/bird)s in the family [Recurvirostridae](/source/Recurvirostridae), which also includes those known as [avocet](/source/avocet)s. Most sources recognize 6 species in 2 genera, with '''''Himantopus''''' being the more speciose genus, though the lone species of ''[Cladorhynchus](/source/Cladorhynchus)'' is also considered a stilt. Additionally, the white-backed and Hawaiian stilts are occasionally considered [subspecies](/source/subspecies) of the black-necked stilt.

Stilts are found in [brackish](/source/Brackish_marsh) or saline [wetland](/source/wetland)s in warm or hot climates. They have extremely long legs, hence the group name, and long thin bills. Stilts typically feed on aquatic insects and other small creatures and nest on the ground surface in loose colonies.
==Taxonomy==
The [genus](/source/genus) ''Himantopus'' was introduced by the French zoologist [Mathurin Jacques Brisson](/source/Mathurin_Jacques_Brisson) in 1760 with the [black-winged stilt](/source/black-winged_stilt) (''Himantopus himantopus'') as the [type species](/source/type_species).<ref>{{ cite book | last=Brisson | first=Mathurin Jacques | author-link=Mathurin Jacques Brisson | year=1760 | title=Ornithologie, ou, Méthode Contenant la Division des Oiseaux en Ordres, Sections, Genres, Especes & leurs Variétés | language=fr, la | at=[https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/36010444 Vol. 1, p. 46], [https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/36294245 Vol. 5, p. 33] | place=Paris | publisher=Jean-Baptiste Bauche }}</ref><ref>{{ cite book | editor-last=Peters | editor-first=James Lee | editor-link=James L. Peters | year=1934 | title=Check-list of Birds of the World | volume=2 | publisher=Harvard University Press | place=Cambridge, Massachusetts  | page=289 | url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14483102 }}</ref> The generic name ''Himantopus'' comes from the [Ancient Greek](/source/Ancient_Greek) meaning "strap-leg".<ref>{{cite book|last=Jobling|first=James|title=Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names|url=https://archive.org/details/helmdictionarysc00jobl_997|url-access=limited|year=2010|publisher=Helm|location=London|isbn=978-1-4081-2501-4|page=[https://archive.org/details/helmdictionarysc00jobl_997/page/n191 191]}}</ref>

=== Species ===

The genus ''Himantopus'' contains four species:<ref name=avilist>{{ cite web | author=AviList Core Team | date=2025 | title=AviList: The Global Avian Checklist, v2025 | doi=10.2173/avilist.v2025 | doi-access=free | url=http://www.avilist.org/checklist/v2025/ | access-date=9 January 2026 }}</ref>
* [Black-winged stilt](/source/Black-winged_stilt), ''Himantopus himantopus''
* [Pied stilt](/source/Pied_stilt), ''Himantopus leucocephalus''
* [Black-necked stilt](/source/Black-necked_stilt), ''Himantopus mexicanus''
** White-backed stilt, ''Himantopus mexicanus melanurus''
** [Hawaiian stilt](/source/Hawaiian_stilt) or ''aeʻo'', ''Himantopus mexicanus knudseni''
* [Black stilt](/source/Black_stilt), ''Himantopus novaezelandiae''

The genus ''Cladorhynchus'' is [monotypic](/source/monotypic) and contains a single species:<ref name=avilist/>
* [Banded stilt](/source/Banded_stilt), ''Cladorhynchus leucocephalus''

A [fossil](/source/fossil) stilt has been described by Bickart, 1990, as ''Himantopus olsoni'', based on remains recovered in the [Late Miocene](/source/Late_Miocene) [Big Sandy Formation](/source/Big_Sandy_Formation) of [Mohave County, Arizona](/source/Mohave_County%2C_Arizona), United States.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bickart|first=K. J.|year=1990|title=Part I: The Birds of the Late Miocene-Early Pliocene Big Sandy Formation, Mohave County, Arizona|journal=Ornithological Monographs|issue=44 |pages=1–72 |doi=10.2307/40166673|jstor=40166673 }}</ref>

==References==
{{Commons category|Himantopus|Stilt}}
{{Reflist}}

{{Charadriiformes|C.|state=collapsed}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q316342}}
{{Authority control}}

Category:Bird common names
Category:Recurvirostridae

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Stilt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stilt) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stilt?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.