WadersBanded Lapwing Bar-tailed Godwit Black-fronted Dotterel Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) Hooded Plover Inland Dotterel Lesser Sand Plover Long-toed Stint Oriental Plover Pacific Golden Plover Pectoral Sandpiper Pied Stilt Red-necked Avocet Red-necked Stint Ruff Sanderling Sharp-tailed Sandpiper Sooty Oystercatcher

The Pied Stilt (Himantopus leucocephalus) is a shorebird (grouped with the waders) in the family Recurvirostridae. A gregarious, it is often seen with other waders including the Avocets.

They prefer shallow open freshwater areas, and can be found in most wetland areas, including seawater lagoons, swamps and sewage farms. The Pied Stilt feeds in shallow water, probing into the sediment with its beak.

Also known as the White-headed Stilt, the Pied Stilt can be found throughout Australia and beyond with populations in New Zealand, Indonesia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, Philippines and Brunei. It is considered a vagrant bird to Christmas Island and Japan.

The Pied Stilt have a migratory pattern within Australia, with some birds in Victoria going north out of Victoria during winter or just following the rains.

The species of stilt which occurs in Africa and Eurasia, are the Black-winged Stilt.

This long-legged wader in the avocet and stilt family (Recurvirostridae) includes the Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus). Whilst the scientific name H. himantopus was formerly applied to a single species, it now applies to the form that is widespread in Eurosiberia and Africa. There is five recognised subspecies, with the Australian one being H. h. leucocephalus.

Common name
Pied Stilt, White-necked Stilt, White-headed Stilt, Stilt-bird, Stilt-Plover, Long-legged Plover, Dog-bird.


  • Scientific classification
  • Kingdom: Animalia
  • Phylum: Chordata
  • Class: Aves
  • Order: Charadriiformes
  • Family: Recurvirostridae
  • Genus: Himantopus
  • Species: Himantopus leucocephalus
  • Synonyms: Himantopus himantopus leucocephalus

  • Subspecies:
    H. h. himantopus
    H. h. leucocephalus
    H. h. mexicanus
    H. h. melanurus
    H. h. knudseni

Footnote & References

  1. Himantopus himantopus leucocephalus Gould, 1837, Atlas of Living Australia, https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/f4231e76-e3a9-4787-b392-1e3b6a449ce5
  2. Pied stilt, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pied_stilt

WadersBanded Lapwing Bar-tailed Godwit Black-fronted Dotterel Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) Hooded Plover Inland Dotterel Lesser Sand Plover Long-toed Stint Oriental Plover Pacific Golden Plover Pectoral Sandpiper Pied Stilt Red-necked Avocet Red-necked Stint Ruff Sanderling Sharp-tailed Sandpiper Sooty Oystercatcher

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