Stilt


 * For the journal of the Australasian Wader Studies Group, see Stilt

Stilt is a common name for several species of birds in the family Recurvirostridae, which also includes those known as avocets. They are found in brackish or saline wetlands 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.

Handbook of Birds of the World recognises three species in two genera:


 * Black-winged Stilt or White-backed Stilt, Himantopus himantopus
 * Pied Stilt or White-headed Stilt, Himantopus (himantopus) leucocephalus
 * Hawaiian Stilt or aeʻo, Himantopus (himantopus/mexicanus) knudseni
 * White-backed Stilt, Himantopus (himantopus/mexicanus) melanurus
 * Black-necked Stilt, Himantopus (himantopus/mexicanus) mexicanus
 * Black Stilt, Himantopus novaezelandiae
 * Banded Stilt, Cladorhynchus leucocephalus

A fossil stilt has been described as Himantopus olsoni, based on remains recovered in the Late Miocene Big Sandy Formation of Wickieup, USA.