Black-necked Stilt
Himantopus mexicanus
This Black-necked Stilt was photographed in Scottsdale, Arizona, February 2009.
With their long, slender, pink legs and sharp black and white plumage, Black Necked Stilts are among the handsomest birds. They typically wade in water up to their knees and use their long slender bill to probe for invertebrates. In the Sonoran Desert they can be found at shallow ponds in the urban setting, wastewater reclamation facilities and along the margins of slow-moving rivers. They also work flooded farm fields in the broad valleys along the Gila and Colorado Rivers. Ranges across western United States from Texas to Washington, but tends to move south during the winter months.