The pied stilt, also known as the white-headed stilt, is a shorebird in the family Recurvirostridae. It is widely distributed with a large total population size and apparently stable population trend, occurring in Malaysia, Japan, the Philippines, Brunei, Christmas Island, Indonesia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Australia, and New Zealand. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. It is sometimes considered a subspecies of the black-winged stilt.
Region
Australasia and Southeast Asia
Typical Environment
Found widely across Australia, New Zealand, and parts of Southeast Asia including Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and nearby islands. It frequents shallow freshwater and brackish wetlands such as lagoons, estuaries, saltpans, flooded fields, and the margins of lakes and rivers. In Australia it often moves nomadically in response to rainfall and the filling of inland wetlands. In New Zealand it breeds on braided riverbeds and coastal wetlands and disperses widely after breeding. It readily uses human-made habitats like sewage ponds and rice fields.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1500 m
Climate Zone
Subtropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 2/5
Also called the white-headed stilt, this sleek shorebird has exceptionally long pinkish-red legs and a fine, needle-like bill for picking prey from shallow water. It is sometimes treated as a subspecies of the black-winged stilt. In New Zealand (where it is known as poaka) it frequently hybridizes with the critically endangered black stilt (kakī). Colonies often use distraction displays to draw predators away from nests.
An illustration of a juvenile pied stilt (1888)
Adult and immature pied stilts in Kewdale, Western Australia
Pied stilt in flight
Temperament
social and active
Flight Pattern
strong flier with steady, shallow wingbeats
Social Behavior
Often forms loose colonies or scattered groups when breeding on open ground near water. Nests are simple scrapes lined with vegetation or pebbles; both sexes incubate and defend the nest. Outside the breeding season it gathers in flocks at rich feeding sites and communal roosts.
Migratory Pattern
Partial migrant
Song Description
Voice is a sharp, high-pitched piping, often rendered as 'kek-kek-kek', especially in alarm. Calls carry well over open water and are delivered frequently when birds are agitated or in flight.
