Black-necked Stilt Himantopus mexicanus Müller       Field Guide IDs: NG-158; G-110; PE-116; PW-pl 26; AE-pl 243; AW-pl 219; AM(l)-336 Nest Location Nest Type Eggs & Mating System Dev. & Parental Care Primary & 2ndary Diet.. Foraging Strategy MF I: 22-26 DAYS PRECOCIAL 2 MF 4 (3-5) MONOG F: 28-32+ DAYS MF(?) INSECTS GROUND GLEAN BREEDING: Marshes, wet savannas, mud flats, shallow ponds and flooded fields. 1? brood. DISPLAYS: Courtship: male alternately pecks ground/water and preens breast, female elongates, male circles female flicking water with bill. See: Shorebird Communication. NEST: Variable, may be open or partly concealed; on dry, water-bounded mound above tide line, on flooded flats with 360o view. Eggs often wet. Occ of mud, sticks, shells, and debris, lined with pebbles, shell bits, sticks. EGGS: Buff, marked with dark brown, black. Often nest-stained. 1.7" (44 mm). DIET: Esp brine flies, crayfish, brine shrimp, snails, few fish, tadpoles; some seeds. CONSERVATION: Winters s to s S.A. NOTES: Loosely colonial. In hot environments, "belly-soaking" (transport of water in the ventral feathers) by incubating adults cools the incubating bird, the eggs or chicks, and increases nest humidity; in a single day, >100 trips for water can occur. Adults distract predators using aerial, mock incubation, and feigned injury displays. Young hide when threatened; swim using wings. STANFORD. NOTES: ESSAYS: Shorebird Feeding; Temperature Regulation; Distraction Displays; Spacing of Wintering Shorebirds; Shorebird Migration and Conservation. REFERENCES: Grant, 1982; Hamilton, 1975.