Banded Stilt
Cladorhynchus leucocephalus
Least ConcernAves · Charadriiformes · Recurvirostridae
About
The banded stilt is a nomadic wader of the stilt and avocet family, Recurvirostridae, native to Australia. It belongs to the monotypic genus Cladorhynchus. It gets its name from the red-brown breast band found on breeding adults, though this is mottled or entirely absent in non-breeding adults and juveniles. Its remaining plumage is pied and the eyes are dark brown. Nestling banded stilts have white down, unlike any other species of wader.
Fun Fact
The nests themselves are scrapes in the soil, up to 15 cm (5.
Quick Facts
Habitat
Found in the Riverina and western parts of the state, and has reached southern Queensland and the Northern Territory, where it has been found at the sewage ponds at Alice Springs and Erldunda.
Diet
Eat molluscs, including both gastropods such as the land snail Salinator fragilis and members of the genus Coxiella, and bivalves of the genus Sphaericum, insects (such as bugs, beetles, flies and flying ants, which they glean from the water surface), and plants such as Ruppia.
Lifespan
To be updated
Threats
- Habitat Change
- Human Disturbance