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Black-winged Stilt
Himantopus himantopus
-26.2151, 32.8887
Field Notes
Description:
Black-winged Stilt, Common Stilt, or Pied Stilt.
A globally widespread wading bird.
Adults are 33–36 cm long. Its distinctive legs make up around 60 percent of its overall height, providing it with a feeding advantage over other waders in deeper waters.
Habitat:
These birds were found on the peninsula east of Maputo, at a sweet water lake in the Maputo Elephant Reserve (Reserva Especial de Maputo). The lake has wide areas of shallow water and a lot of different waders and other birds are easy to spot. Unfortunately for bird lovers, the lake also habitats a large number or Nile Crocodiles.
Notes:
During breeding, parental investment is high from both male and female birds, with males devoting a significant amount of time to nest building and egg incubation. The nest is either a depression in hard ground or arranged on a floating mass of vegetation, preferably situated with all-round visibility.
The vast geographical range of the black-winged stilt extends as far as Africa, Europe, Asia and even the United States. Its population in 2009 was estimated to be between 450,000 and 780,000, with a massive estimated range of 30,800,000 square kilometres. (http://www.birdlife.org)
The Black-winged Stilt is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.
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