Contributor
Date
Location
- Age and sex
- Adult, Unknown sex - 1
Observation details
While acknowledging that this bird could be (is likely to be?) an aberrant Black-necked Stilt, I am entering here as this species given its appearance, and to hopefully engage review by others who will receive this as an eBird alert. The bird was first seen and photographed feeding near some American Avocets; its plumage stood out immediately from the nearby Black-necked Stilts by showing a completely white neck and face, sharply delineated from the black mantle and folded wings. The bird had a partially black crown, irregular in shape and not coming down to the eyes or to the base of the bill (immediate forecrown white). Legs pink, bill dark, long and straight. Initially seen and videoed at perhaps 100m; after we completed surveying this part of the wetland, we approached for a closer view, and the partial sun made for better photo opportunities, even though the bird was now perhaps 150m away. But it eventually flew in to the close shoreline, where I took more phonescope video (partially obscured by vegetation). These closer shots show that the bird very sparse black flecking on the hindneck, and very limited white flecking on the folded wings. Behavior was no different than the Black-necked Stilts in the same area. Photos and video have been posted to the ABA Rare Birds FB page, but there has really been no in-depth analysis (if that is even possible here) regarding its identity, nor if anyone has recorded Black-necked Stilts showing this particular plumage anomaly (partial leucism resulting in a plumage mimicking Black-winged Stilt).
Additional species
Technical information
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- Microphone
- Accessories
- Original file size
- 273.55 KB