Baby stilt out exploring
by Ruth Jolly
Title
Baby stilt out exploring
Artist
Ruth Jolly
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
A striking black-and-white bird with very long, thin red legs, the Black-necked Stilt is found along the edges of shallow water in open country. Black-necked Stilts inhabit shallow wetlands from the western United States to Central America and parts of South America. In the United States, Black-necked Stilts are commonly found in salt ponds, flooded lowlands, or shallow lagoons. Human-maintained wetlands such as sewage ponds or flooded pastures are particularly suitable habitats for these birds. Black-necked Stilts nest on the ground. They tend to build on surfaces above water, such as small islands, clumps of vegetation, or even, occasionally, floating mats of algae. Both female and male Black-necked Stilt choose the site; they look for places with a soft substrate that can be scraped away to form the depression in which they nest. Black-necked Stilts wade for their food, and will only swim or dive when under duress. During breeding and during winter, they are strongly territorial birds and are particularly aggressive to chicks that are not their own. When not breeding, Black-necked Stilts roost and forage in closely packed groups, often staying within a foot of each other. Black-necked Stilts are semi-colonial when nesting, and they participate en masse in anti-predator displays. The displays include one in which non-incubating birds fly up to mob predators, and one in which all birds encircle a predator, hop up and down, and flap their wings. This baby is approximately 5 days old in Gilbert, Arizona found at the Riparian Presrve at Water Ranch. Fine Art America watermark will not appear on purchased artwork.
Uploaded
July 29th, 2013
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Viewed 194 Times - Last Visitor from Sydney, NSW - Australia on 03/25/2024 at 10:38 PM
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