Stilts and Avocets (Recurvirostridae)

Black Stilt (Himantopus novaezelandiae) - HBW 3, p. 345

French: Échasse noire German: Schwarzer Stelzenläufer Spanish: Cigüeñuela Negra

Taxonomy: Himantopus novæ-zelandiæ Gould, 1841, Port Nicholson, North Island, New Zealand.
Forms superspecies with H. himantopus, with which sometimes considered conspecific (see page 332); known to hybridize with H. h. leucocephalus, and the two species have very similar courtship and breeding behaviour. Monotypic.

Distribution: New Zealand: formerly widespread, but breeding now restricted to MacKenzie Basin, C South I; small numbers winter locally in North I.