An Intriguing Pair of Pied Stilts

Slim and graceful, pied stilts or poaka (Himantopus himantopus) can be seen readily in and around the Christchurch estuary at present, prior to their flight to breeding grounds in late winter-early spring.

The pied stilts are another self-introduced species that arrived relatively recently (perhaps around 1800) from Australia, and they've flourished here in New Zealand.

These two birds are somewhat unusual, in that one has a white head, with black eye markings, but no black marking on its neck or head. The other bird has the more commonly seen markings, with black on its neck and the back of its head. This could mean that the first one is a White Headed Pied Stilt, or a cross - perhaps it has interbred with Himantopus novaezealandiae , which is a Black Stilt, and rather rare. I'm no expert, so I don't know for sure, but I'm intrigued that there seems to be a mix going on here.

The other intriguing thing was that Mr WhiteHead played at having a broken leg, and was trying to divert attention to himself, as though he wouldn't make a good meal, because he was sick. He was feeding away quite happily when I first arrived, as you can see in the photo.

They were feeding in the Linwood canal, very close to where I saw the kotuku feeding a few days ago. It's a bird rich area around here.