stilt-runners lives on all continents (the Antarctica excluded) including Madagascar in 8 subtypes, New Zealand and Hawaii, with what they clearly prefer warm and warmly-restrained areas, however, and into colder areas only sporadically advances.
Shape These 36-38 cm extremely is big relatives of the Säbelschnäbler with its reaches, red legs and the dainty black, 6-7 cm long, straight beak quite distinctive birds. its plumage (European subtype) is pure-white with exception of the wings and the intervening back-plumage (these two body-regions take off black); the males have (only in the brood-dress) dark places in the neck and at the rear-head. The plumage of other subtypes contains more black; a New Zealand race even is completely black. In the flight, stilt-runs stretch its long legs exactly to the back away; they tower above the tail-end by 15-18 cm.
Way of life Stilt-runners live in the shores and coasts of flat waters, with what they don't avoid also lagoons and Salinen, as long as it is salt content not far too highly. In general, they prefer sweet-waters.
Since flat-waters often show strong fluctuations in the water-stand and also the offer to loot-animals often fluctuates considerably, stilt-runners are quite adaptable in the election of its hatcheries and often avoid to more suitable Nistrevieren. Particularly in Southern Europe, the continuance increased in stilt-runners through the increased installation of paddies, fishponds and Kläranlagen. Natural brood-biotopes are Z. B. verlandende seas, floodplains, lagoons, bayous of big rivers as well as swamps and heath-surfaces.
Brood its nests position stilt-runners in loosely joined colonies. they don't avoid also dense ground-vegetation on that occasion, as long as only quietly the entire area, openly and sufficiently clear is. The nest-location lies in the or densely at the shallow water, with what the birds erect a quite extensive construction on grass-tufts, roots or swimming water-plants out of plant-material, feathers or Erdbrocken and little stone, while only a flat hollow is molded on dry-fallen mud-underground or sand-grounds.
The nest consists of 3-4 eggs and is set aside (according to environment-conditions in the brood-area) to quite different times. Both partners erbrüten the nest (from the last egg at) 22-24 days, until the tawny-black patterned Dunenjungen slip. Both alto-birds lead its boys together or apportion it in 2 groups. The growth of the long legs is from the 7. Life-day strongest. The squabs move skillfully also through dense ground-vegetation, in what they hide with danger on a warning-reputation of the parents to. At all, they live very much hidden until the fully-fledged-development (after 28-32 days).
The mortality often is quite high with stilt-runners; the brood-success hangs strongly from the condition of the brood-waters and consequently from too strong dryness or flood from. In arid years, whole brood-colonies don't raise one single squab, while survives 40-60 percent of the offspring in a stable biotope. The known maximum-age amounts to 10 years at stilt-runners.
Nutrition Stilt-runners carry off cancer-animal its food - mainly water-insects -, amphibians, whose spawn and small fish, mainly on the day, in that they wade cautiously through shallow water and aufpicken the loot with jerky "bows." During the hunt, the stilt-runners last individually; when brooding, rests, sleeping and cleaning as well as with the Bodenbalz (2-6 pairs) and at the train, the birds are very sociable.
Zugverhalten The winter-quarters of the European stilt-runners lie in the southern Mediterranean-area (North-Africa), with what the more southern populations are line and stand-birds. Farther east brooding stilt-runners spend the winter in the tropical regions of the equator (from the Persian golf eastward as far as to India and southeast-Asia) north.
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