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9

Banded Stilt (Cladorhynchus leucocephalus) Alternate name(s): "Biship Snipe", "Rottnest Snipe" Size: 35-45 cm Weight: 200-290 g

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Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Banded Stilts are medium-sized, mostly black-and-white waders. Their body plumage is mostly white, except for a brown triangle on their breast, with a tip down to the belly. The wings are black. During the breeding season the breast triangle is chestnut-brown. In eclipse it becomes mottled and inconspicuous. The irises are black. The legs and feet are skin-pink to orange, while the bill is black. While field guides state that Banded Stilts have straight bills, some of the photos presented here show that the bill is, in fact, slightly upcurved. Juvenile Banded Stilts do not have a brown chest triangle yet. Twitcher's tip Adult Banded Stilts have a prominent brown chest triangle, unlike Black-winged Stilts or Red-necked Avocets.

Taxonomy, classification See Banded Stilt at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of Banded Stilts is available HERE . Banded Stilts are endemic to Australia. Apart from a few individual sightings along the NSW East coast and the Tasmanian coastline, Banded Stilts are usually found in two main areas: One part of the population resides in western VIC and south-eastern SA, from about Melbourne to Eyre peninsula, sometimes also in south-western NSW and up the Darling and Paroo River to the south-western tip of QLD. Farther West they can regularly be found around the salt lakes of the red cenre, such as Lake Eyre, where they also breed, occasionally up to Alice Springs, NT. The second part of the population populates parts of SW WA, from about the Eucla to Kalbarri NP. Inland they can be found regularly to the North of Kalgoorlie, WA. occasionally all through the western half of WA, up to the Gascoyne (South of the latitude of Eighty Mile Beach). From the SW tip of WA to halfway up the West coast of WA, they can also disperse inland to almost the geographic longitude of Kalgoorlie, WA. There is only one area, to the North-West of Kalgoorlie, that they avoid in western WA. Banded Stilts, although they can also be found around freshwater lakes, have a preference for saline or brackish water. They are most commonly found in tidal mudflats, lagoons, salt water marshes and ephemeral lakes, especially with increased salinity.

Sightings Click here for sighting information F. Japp reports spotting Banded Stilts at Mourquong, near Mildura, NSW, in December 2014. J. Greaves reports finding Banded Stilts at Baghdad Lake, Rottnest Island, WA, in December 2015, and at Government Lake, Rottnest Island, WA, in February 2016. M. Eaton found Banded Stilts at Lake McClarty, Murray, WA, in April 2019. C. Pears found a mixed flock of Banded Stilts and Red-necked Avocets on Rottnest Island, WA, in April 2018.

Photos

ADULT

Sex unknown

BREEDING

Frontal view of a Banded Stilt in breeding plumage; note the solid-brown breast band - late in the season the feathers are worn and the band very dark (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lake McClarty, Murray, WA, April 2019]

Lateral view of a Banded Stilt in breeding plumage; note the complete breast band (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lake McClarty, Murray, WA, April 2019]

Lateral view of a Banded Stilt in breeding plumage; note the slightly up-curved bill (photo courtesy of F. Japp)
[Mourquong, near Mildura, NSW, December 2014]

Dorsal view of a Banded Stilt in breeding plumage; note the solid-brown base of the triangle (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lake McClarty, Murray, WA, April 2019]

Banded Stilts in breeding plumage foraging in shallow saline water; for comparison, a Ruddy Turnstone in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Government Lake, Rottnest Island, WA, February 2016]

Large flock of Banded Stilts in breeding plumage on the edge of a saltwater lake (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Government Lake, Rottnest Island, WA, February 2016]

Closer look at part of a flock of Banded Stilts in breeding plumage in a saltwater lake (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Government Lake, Rottnest Island, WA, February 2016]

Frontal view of Banded Stilts coming in to land; while the birds are in breeding plumage, the two birds on the left are in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of F. Japp)
[Mourquong, near Mildura, NSW, December 2014]

NON-BREEDING

Lateral view of a Banded Stilt in non-breeding plumage; note the incomplete breast band (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lake McClarty, Murray, WA, April 2019]

Lateral view of Banded Stilts; on the right and at the far-centre two birds can be seen in non-breeding plumage, with faint breast bands (photo courtesy of F. Japp)
[Mourquong, near Mildura, NSW, December 2014]

Dorsal view of a Banded Stilt in non-breeding plumage; note the incomplete base of the brown triangle
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lake McClarty, Murray, WA, April 2019]

Comparison of a Banded Stilt in non-breeding plumage with a juvenile Black-winged Stilt (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lake McClarty, Murray, WA, April 2019]

Mixed flock of Banded Stilts and Red-necked Avocets (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Rottnest Island, WA, April 2018]

Behaviour

Banded Stilts have a preference for saline or brackish water.

Food, Diet

Banded Stilts feed primarily on brine shrimp.

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Sun, 21 March 2021, 11:23 +00:00