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Black-winged Stilt feeding on fish

on 2nd October 2013

“I have never before seen the Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus himantopus) takes a fish. Spotted this adult with a fish he had foraged (above). The bird proceeded to ‘wash’ the fish a number of times before feeding (below). It even ‘lost’ the prey twice In the process but got it back (one post shows the fish slipping out: above-right).

“Looked up the literature on its diet.
 Dostin (1989) from Australia gives a summary of the literature. I however do not like their methods. They shot 21 birds to obtain their data.
 They found remains of fish in 6 birds. Pierce (1985, 1986) from New Zealand reported small fish as prey. Hamilton (1975) from North America has also reported fish as part of the diet.“

Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS
Ipoh City, Perak, Malaysia
1st September 2013


Location: Malim Nawar Wetlands, Perak, Malaysia
.
Habitat: Extensive ex-tin mining area with extensive pond/lakes, wetlands, fish farming
.

References:
1.
Dostin, Mort (1989). Food of the Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus in the Alligator Rivers Region, Northern Territory. Emu 89: 250-253.


Hamilton, R.B. (1975). Comparative behaviour of the American Avocet and the Black-necked Stilt (Recurvirostridae). OrnithoL Monogr. 17: 1-98.
2. Pierce, R.J. (1985). Feeding methods of stilts (Himantopus spp.). N Z . J. Zool. 12: 467-472. 

3. Pierce, R.J. (1986). Foraging responses of stilts (Himantopus spp.: Aves) to changes in behaviour and abundance of their riverbed prey. N.Z 1 Mar. Freshw. Res 20: 17-28.

If you like this post please tap on the Like button at the left bottom of page. Any views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors/contributors, and are not endorsed by the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM, NUS) or its affiliated institutions. Readers are encouraged to use their discretion before making any decisions or judgements based on the information presented.

YC Wee

Dr Wee played a significant role as a green advocate in Singapore through his extensive involvement in various organizations and committees: as Secretary and Chairman for the Malayan Nature Society (Singapore Branch), and with the Nature Society (Singapore) as founding President (1978-1995). He has also served in the Nature Reserve Board (1987-1989), Nature Reserves Committee (1990-1996), National Council on the Environment/Singapore Environment Council (1992-1996), Work-Group on Nature Conservation (1992) and Inter-Varsity Council on the Environment (1995-1997). He is Patron of the Singapore Gardening Society and was appointed Honorary Museum Associate of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) in 2012. In 2005, Dr Wee started the Bird Ecology Study Group. With more than 6,000 entries, the website has become a valuable resource consulted by students, birdwatchers and researchers locally and internationally. The views and opinions expressed in this article are his own, and do not represent those of LKCNHM, the National University of Singapore or its affiliated institutions.

Other posts by YC Wee

7 Responses

      1. Is this bird threatened? I didn’t know you could kill in the name of research, but then again these are the same grounds on which the Japanese people continue to kill whales, isn’t it? My Japanese friend says whaling continues without regard to species, and it is most definitely not for research – it’s for consumption (even though, in his own words, whale meat is “quite tough” and “not very nice”).

        1. Status: Not globally threatened. If permission from the relevant authorities is obtained, I assume you can take limited number of birds, especially if the species is not threatened. As for killing whales, the reason given may be “research” – just an excuse…

          1. Thanks for the info. As for whaling, the “research” reason is a lie, as any Japanese person can tell you. But what can we do about it?

            “Countries can set any quota they like on whales killed for scientific purposes. Ultimately, though, Japan’s catch gets eaten. If the court justifies this whaling as scientific it will be endorsing blatant hypocrisy.”

            From Bloomberg article here: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-14/whaling-debate-has-hypocrites-all-around.html

            More from ABC news: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-06-28/expert-tells-hague-court-japan-whaling-program-not-science/4786566

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