Living in harmony - Chestnut Teals and Stilts feeling at home at the wetland. Sharing is important for survival

            The pied stilt (Himantopus leucocephalus), also known as the white-headed stilt, is a shorebird in the family Recurvirostridae. It is widely distributed with a large total population size and apparently stable population trend, occurring in Malaysia, Japan, the Philippines, Brunei, Christmas Island, Indonesia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Australia, and New Zealand. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. It is sometimes considered a subspecies of the black-winged stilt (H. himantopus).  The pied stilt grows to a length of about 36 cm with a wingspan of about 67 cm. The back of the head and neck, the back and the upper surfaces of the wings are glossy greenish-black. The undersides of the wings are plain black and the remainder of the plumage is white, apart from the tail feathers which are tinged with grey. The long, thin legs are pink and the toes have black claws. The long slender beak is black and the irises and the eyelids are red. The pied stilt is resident in southern Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi and most of Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. There are non-breeding populations in Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Brunei, Palau, South Kalimantan, West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara, East Timor and New Guinea. This bird is a vagrant to Japan and Christmas Island. The pied stilt is a waterbird and feeds in shallow water, probing into the sediment with its beak. It is gregarious, and in New Zealand sometimes forms mixed flocks with the black stilt (Himantopus novaezelandiae). It feeds largely on aquatic insects and on small molluscs. It emits a repeated yelping cry as it flies, and the legs trail behind it, tending to sway from side-to-side.
The chestnut teal (Anas castanea) is a dabbling duck found in Australia. It is protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974. The chestnut teal is darker and a slightly bigger bird than the grey teal. The male has a distinctive green coloured head and mottled brown body. The female has a brown head and mottled brown body. The female is almost identical in appearance to the grey teal. The chestnut teal is commonly distributed in south-eastern and south-western Australia, while vagrants may occur elsewhere. Tasmania and southern Victoria are the species’ stronghold, while vagrants have been found as far north as New Guinea and Lord Howe Island, and as far south as New Zealand. The female chestnut teal has a loud penetrating laughing quack repeated rapidly nine times or more. 40941

Taken in: Australia / New South Wales / Liberty Grove (show map)

Taken on: September 16, 2020

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Himantopus leucocephalus

Recurvirostridae

pied stilt

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2020

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canon 5D iv « less

Sets appears in: • spring • September more » • 2020 • canon 5D Mark iv • canon 100-400mm L is ii • canon extender 1.4x III • shadow • stilt • teal • wetland « less

Groups appears in: • Canon 100-400 IS II • Canon EOS 5D Mark IV DSLR

Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, f/8.0, 1/1500 sec, 560mm, ISO 1250 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
Lens:	EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM +1.4x III
Aperture:	f/8.0
Exposure Time:	0.001 sec (1/1500)
Focal Length:	560mm
ISO:	1250
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic 11.5 (Windows)
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