BREEDING BIRDS: AMERICAN AVOCET AND BLACK-NECKED STILT - AMERICAN AVOCET <i> (Recurvirostra americana) </i> - BLACK-NECKED STILT (<i> Himantopus mexicanus) </i>

Description: Both birds are sleek, graceful waders with long, slender bills and spindly legs. Their colorations are similar. The American avocet is black and white above and white below; head and neck rusty in breeding plumage and gray in winter; male bills are longer and more straight. Adults average about 18 inches in length. The male stilt’s glossy black back and bill contrast sharply with white underparts and long red or pink legs; females are browner. The adult stilt is somewhat smaller than the avocet, averaging 14 inches.

Habitat: Usually marshes, mud flats, ponds and flooded fields.

Diet: Mostly crustaceans, insects and some seeds for both.

Display: Avocet male wades, bows, crouches, dances with wings spread; prostrate female extends head, neck and wings. The stilt male alternately pecks ground/water and preens breast, then circles female flicking water with bill; female elongates.

Nest: Locations vary, but both will build in sand, mud flats below brush; may be open or partly concealed and often on water-bounded mound above tide line.

Eggs: The avocet’s eggs are olive-buff, marked with brown and black; the stilt’s buff, marked with dark brown and black coloring and often are nest-stained.

Natural history notes: Avocet--Loud calls and mobbing of predator typical defense on breeding grounds; group distraction display. Male incubates more frequently for first eight days, then primarily female for next 16. Young hatch synchronously; activity peaks in early morning and in afternoon.

Stilt--In hot environments, “belly-soaking” (transport of water in the ventral feathers) by incubating adults cools the eggs or chicks by increasing nest humidity. Adults might make 100 trips for water in one day. Adults distract predators using aerial, mock incubation, and feigned injury displays. Young hide when threatened, swim using wings.

Breeding bird atlas: To report bird breeding activity in your neighborhood, or to get information on the breeding bird atlas (now in its fifth and final year), call Sea and Sage Audubon Society member Nancy Kenyon, (714) 786-3160.

Sources: Sea and Sage Audubon Society; “The Birder’s Handbook,” Ehrlich, Dobkin and Wheye, Fireside Books (1988); “Field Guide to the Birds of North America,” National Geographic Society (1987); “Birds of Southern California: Status and Distribution,” Garrett and Dunn, Los Angeles Audubon Society (1981).