Black-necked Stilt

We took a trip up to Gilbert, AZ to visit family and very early this morning went to the Gilbert Riparian Reserve. From a great distance, I captured this unique stilt.

What makes this bird unique is the especially long legs. It has the longest legs in the bird world in proportion to it's body. The outrageous length of the legs make this bird hard to confuse with any other bird.

It is a summer bird in parts of Arizona and can be found at times from the west coast and as far east as the Great Lakes.  It is a complete migrator to South America.

It lives in both fresh and salt water marshes and is known for "belly soaking," transporting water with it's water-soaked belly feathers to cool eggs in hot weather.

Their legs can measure up to 11"/30 cm long, while their entire height is usually about 14"/35.5 cm.

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