photo by Phil Swanson (female bird)

Himantopus mexicanus
L 14″(36 cm).

Song or calls:
Loud “keek-keek” or “yip-yip.”

Description: Sexes similar. Long reddish legs distinctive. Glossy black back; long, thin black bill; and white underparts and eyebrows. Female is browner above.

Food: Eats almost exclusively aquatic insect sight smaller quantities of fish, reptiles, and amphibians.

Habitat: Alkaline ponds and marshes.

Where in Nebraska: Rare spring migrant. Recent nesting records at Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge.

Fun Facts: Black-necked Stilts have the second-longest legs in proportion to their bodies, exceeded by only flamingos! 

 
(click image for larger view)