Waterfowl Shorebird Wading Bird Black-Necked Stilt Card

Featured on this greeting card is a photo of a Black-Necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus) wading in the water with its reflections while looking for a meal. These shorebirds are locally abundant in American wetlands and shorelines. You will find it from the revisit of California through much of the interior western United States and along the Gulf of Mexico as far east as Florida, then south through Central America and the Caribbean to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. The black-necked stilt feeds by probing and gleaning primarily in mudflats and lakeshores, for aquatic invertebrates - mainly crustaceans and other arthropods, and mollusks - and small fish, tadpoles and, very rarely, plant seeds. They nest on the ground within less than a mile from their feeding location. Groups of individual pairs will work in cooperation to defend the nesting area. They will draw a weak or sick. They will use what it called the "popcorn display" where all adults in the colony will alternate hop up and with wildly flapping wings calling loudly and incessantly at offending intruders. They lay 3-5 eggs and the males and females take turn incubating them. The babies will begin swimming, wading, and feeding with their parents within hours of hatching. The young can fly within a month of hatching but will remain dependant on their parents for some weeks after. They begin breeding at about 1-2 years. Customize the inside of this card using Zazzle's many styles and colors or remove the text and leave it blank if you prefer. Have fun making it your own! If you need any help, please don't hesitate to contact me, and I will be more than happy to assist you. You may contact me through my Wolf Moon Art and Design Facebook page. You can find the link on my about page in my store. Look at the bottom of the page where it says "connect with Wolf Moon Art and Design." Original photography copyright 2019 by Karen Coffelt.