Hawaiian stilt
| Hawaiian stilt | |
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| Scientific classification (disputed) | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Charadriiformes |
| Family: | Recurvirostridae |
| Genus: | Himantopus |
| Species: | H. mexicanus |
| Subspecies: | H. m. knudseni |
| Trinomial name | |
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Himantopus mexicanus knudseni Stejneger, 1887 |
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| Synonyms | |
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The Hawaiian stilt (Himantopus mexicanus knudseni) is an endangered Hawaiian subspecies of the black-necked stilt (H. mexicanus) species. It is a long-legged, slender shorebird with a long, thin beak. Other common names include the Hawaiian black-necked stilt, the ae’o (from a Hawaiian name for the bird and word for stilts), the kukuluae’o (a Hawaiian name for the bird and word for “one standing high”), or it may be referred to as the Hawaiian subspecies of the black-necked stilt.
The Hawaiian stilt subspecies was formerly and is still classified by some as Himantopus himantopus knudseni, a subspecies of the black-winged stilt (Himantopus himantopus), and as its own species, Himantopus knudseni.
The Hawaiian stilt grows up to 15 in (38 cm) in length. It has a black back from head to tail, with a white forehead, face, and underside. Its bill is thin, long and black, and its legs are very long and pink. Sexes are similar, except that the female has a tinge of brown on its back, while the male's back is glossy.
Relatively, the Hawaiian stilt has among the longest legs of any bird in the world. Its eyebrows, cheeks, chin, breast, belly and vent are white. Immature birds have a brownish back and a cheek patch like the adult black-necked stilt. Downy chicks are well camouflaged in tan with black speckling. Young look identical to both black-necked and black-winged stilts.
Compared to the nominate subspecies, the North American H. m. mexicanus, the black coloration of the Hawaiian stilt extends noticeably farther around its neck and lower on its face than the black-necked stilt (Himantopus mexicanus), and its bill, tarsus, and tail are longer.
The Hawaiian stilt show strong, flapping flight with dangling legs. They are found in groups, pairs or singly.
They have a loud chirp described as sounding like “kip kip kip”.
The stilts nest in loose colonies on mudflats close to the water. Nests are shallow depressions lined with stones, twigs and debris. An average clutch is four eggs. Soon after hatching, young leave the nest to accompany adults on their daily foraging. Adults will aggressively defend their territories and will feign injury to disract potential predators from their nest sites and young.
The Hawaiian stilt's feeding habitats are shallow bodies of water, providing a wide variety of fish, crabs, worms, and insects.
An estimated 92% of the Hawaiian stilt population is on Maui, Oahu, and Kauai, with annual presence on Niihau, Molokai, and Hawaii, and rare observation on Lanai (1993 estimate). The species is generally found below elevations of 150 m (490 ft).
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Wikipedia