The Recurvirostridae are a family of birds in the wader suborder Charadrii. It contains two distinct groups of birds, the avocets (one genus) and the stilts (two genera).
Description
Avocets and stilts range in length from and in weight from ; males are usually slightly bigger than females. All possess long, thin legs, necks, and bills. The bills of avocets are curved upwards, and are swept from side to side when the bird is feeding in the brackish or saline wetlands they prefer. The bills of stilts, in contrast, are straight. The front toes are webbed, partially in most stilts, and fully in avocets and the banded stilt, which swim more. The sexes are similar.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! align="center" style="background-color: #D3D3A4" colspan ="4" |Species in the family Recurvirostridae
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! Common and binomial names
! class="unsortable"| Image
! Range
! Notes
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| Banded stilt<br />Cladorhynchus leucocephalus
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| southern Australia
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| Black-winged stilt<br />Himantopus himantopus
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| Europe, Asia and Africa
| Sometimes includes pied (H. leucocephalus), white-backed (H. melanurus) and black-necked stilts (H. mexicanus) as subspecies
|-
| Pied stilt<br />Himantopus (himantopus) leucocephalus
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| Southeast Asia to Australia and New Zealand
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| Black-necked stilt<br />Himantopus (himantopus) mexicanus
| 120px
| North America to northern South America, and Hawaii
| Includes Hawaiian stilt (H. m. knudseni) and sometimes also white-backed stilt (H. melanurus) as subspecies
|-
| Black stilt<br />Himantopus novaezelandiae
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| South Island of New Zealand
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|-
| American avocet<br />Recurvirostra americana
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| North America
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| Andean avocet<br />Recurvirostra andina
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| Andes in South America
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| Pied avocet<br />Recurvirostra avosetta
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| Europe, Asia and Africa
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|-
| Red-necked avocet<br />Recurvirostra novaehollandiae
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| Australia
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|}
References
- Pierce, R.J. (1996) "Family Recurvirostridae (Stilts and Avocets) P.p. 332-348 in del Hoyo, J.; Elliot, A. & Sargatal, J. (editors). (1996). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 3: Hoatzin to Auks. Lynx Edicions.