CreatureData

White-backed stilt

Himantopus melanurus Vieillot, 1817

Status not recordedbirds

The white-backed stilt (Himantopus melanurus) is a species in the family Recurvirostridae, order Charadriiformes. Recorded adults weigh 168.7 g to 170.4 g and live up to 10.2 years.

No freely licensed photo yet

Quick facts about the white-backed stilt

Weight
169 g
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
10.2 years
Longest recorded lifespan
19.1 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Egg incubation
24.5 days
Young per litter or clutch
4
Age at maturity
12 months – 17.9 months
Litters or clutches a year
1
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the white-backed stilt live?

Not recorded

Is the white-backed stilt endangered?

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

How is the white-backed stilt classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderCharadriiformes
  5. familyRecurvirostridae
  6. genusHimantopus
  7. SpeciesHimantopus melanurus Vieillot, 1817

Synonyms Himantopus himantopus melanurus, Himantopus mexicanus melanurus

Other names and names in other languages (23)
  • pisila jihoamerickáCzech
  • hirgoes cynffondduWelsh
  • Hvidkronet StylteløberDanish
  • Halsband-StelzenläuferGerman
  • blankdorsa himantopodoEsperanto
  • Cigüeñuela AmericanaSpanish
  • valjas-karkjalgEstonian
  • Échasse à queue noireFrench
  • južnoamerička vlastelicaCroatian
  • fehérhátú gólyatöcsHungarian
  • Cavaliere dorsoneroItalian
  • ナンベイセイタカシギJapanese
  • Zuid-Amerikaanse SteltkluutDutch
  • hvitkronestylteløperNorwegian
  • szczudłak obrożnyPolish
  • pernilongo-de-dorso-brancoPortuguese
  • Южноамериканский ходулочникRussian
  • šišila bielochrbtáSlovak
  • vitkronad styltlöpareSwedish
  • кулик-довгоніг латиноамериканськийUkrainian
  • 南美长脚鹬Chinese
  • pernilongo-de-costas-brancasPortuguese
  • 白背高蹺鴴Chinese

Catalogue of Life

Relatives of the white-backed stilt

Other species in the same genus Himantopus.

CR, Critically Endangered
Black stilt (Himantopus novaezelandiae)

Black stilt

Himantopus novaezelandiae

Recurvirostridae

Ae'o

Himantopus mexicanus

RecurvirostridaeNo free photo yet

Pied stilt

Himantopus leucocephalus

RecurvirostridaeNo free photo yet

CompareWhite-backed stilt vs Black-winged stiltWhite-backed stilt vs Black stiltWhite-backed stilt vs Ae'oWhite-backed stilt vs Pied stilt

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the white-backed stilt?

An adult white-backed stilt weighs 169 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

How long does the white-backed stilt live?

The white-backed stilt has a recorded lifespan of 10.2 years.

What kind of animal is the white-backed stilt?

The white-backed stilt (Himantopus melanurus) belongs to the family Recurvirostridae in the order Charadriiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). White-backed stilt (Himantopus melanurus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/white-backed-stilt

MLA

“White-backed stilt (Himantopus melanurus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/white-backed-stilt.

BibTeX
@misc{white_backed_stilt_2026,
  title = {White-backed stilt (Himantopus melanurus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/white-backed-stilt},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}