Black-necked stilt

Himantopus mexicanus

The Black-necked stilt (Himantopus mexicanus) is a bird found in United States, Mexico and Argentina. Shallow wetlands and coasts across the Americas. It eats insects and other small invertebrates. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

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Scientific name	Himantopus mexicanus
Region	North America
Found in	United States, Mexico and Argentina

🏡 Where the Black-necked stilt lives

Shallow wetlands and coasts across the Americas.

🍽️ What it eats

🐛 Insects & bugs100%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

LCNTVUENCREWEX

Least ConcernThere are plenty of these birds.

💡 It has some of the longest legs for its size of any bird.

Hear the Black-necked stilt

Recorded by Christian Kerihuel (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC1186399. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Black-necked stilt

Where does the Black-necked stilt live?

The Black-necked stilt lives in United States, Mexico and Argentina. Shallow wetlands and coasts across the Americas.

What does the Black-necked stilt eat?

insects and other small invertebrates (about 100%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Black-necked stilt endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from North America

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.