The Pied Stilt is a beautiful wading bird that is widespread in Australia. They are closely related to the Black-necked Stilt ( North and South America ), Black-winged Stilt ( Africa, India and Europe), White-backed Stilt ( South America ) and the Critically endangered Black Stilt of New Zealand. They are smart birds with their Black and white plumage and long, pink legs.
These elegant birds can be found in small groups but may also collect in large numbers outside of the breeding season. The Stilts feed in fresh and brackish water where their diet includes aquatic insects and larvae.
They can migrate large distances to find suitable feeding grounds and to nest, at times, in Outback Australia where they survive extremely harsh conditions.
Their call is a 'yep yep', similar to a yapping dog.
I filmed these sequences from a hide, locally on the Sunshine Coast, in South east Queensland.
Description from Birdlife below :
The Pied Stilt is a large black and white wader with long orange-red legs and a straight black bill. It has black on the back of the neck, a white collar and a red iris. Both sexes are similar, and the plumage does not change during the year.
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