Black-winged Stilt

This distinctive stilt has long pink legs, longer in proportion to its body size than those of any bird except the flamingo; in flight, its legs project far beyond the tail. Stilts walk quickly, taking long strides, and wade into water to pick insects and small aquatic animals off vegetation and off the water surface. The long slender bill is ideally adapted for this purpose. Colonies of stilts nest together near water. Some nests are substantial structures, built up in shallow water from sticks and mud; other are small flimsy ground nests. Between April and June the female lays 3 to 5 eggs, which both parents incubate for 26 days. The young leave the nest soon after hatching.