Black-winged Stilt
Himantopus himantopus Linnaeus, 1758
Himantopus canidus Bonnat.: Elwes, Buckley, 1870: 332; Radakoff, 1879: 171; Hristovich, 1890: 215; Himantopus melanopterus Temm.: Alleon, 1886: 421.
Order Charadriiformes
Family Recurvirostridae
Conservation status: in Bulgaria: Endangered EN=[a[2(a+c)]+b[2(b(ii+iii+iv)+c(iii))] +C[2(a(i))]], BDA-III; International: BeC-II, BoC-II, BD-I.
General distribution. A cosmopolitan species with a scattered distribution. It inhabits America, the Galapagos Islands and the Antilles, Africa, Madagascar island, the Balearic Islands, the Hawaiian Islands, the Philippine Islands and the Zond islands, as well as New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand.
Distribution and abundance in Bulgaria. A breeding summer visitor. In the past it incubated along the Danube shore and the nearby marshes, near Sofia and the Black Sea lakes. In the 80s it remained breeding only in the Burgas lakes and the fish farms near the village of Sokolitsa [1]. At present it breeds along the sea shore lakes – Durankulak (4 pairs) and Shablenska Tuzla (8-15 pairs), in the Yatata locality, in Varna region (10 pairs), in the lakes Atanasovsko (40-55 pairs), Pomoriysko (10-15 pairs) and Mandra (1-3 pairs), in the Poda locality (10-15 pairs) [2], along the Danube and within the country – up to the village of Obnova (1 pair), the village of Balgarene, Pleven region, the Ivata locality, Pleven region (1 pairs), the fish farms near the village of Hadzhidimitrovo (2 pairs) [3], Byalo Pole Reservoir, Stara Zagora region (2 pairs), a microreservoir near the town of Chirpan (20-30 pairs) [4]. The breeding places within the country are subject to fluctuations and the number of pairs changes every year. Its breeding population amounts to 200-250 pairs [5]. Within the last 10 years the population declined by 50 %.
Habitats. Marshes, bogs, shore brackish and salty lagoons, fish farms, salt production sites, regions for storing waste waters, microreservoirs.
Biology. It breeds in colonies and independently. Building the nests takes place after the middle of April. It lays eggs (3-4) at the end of April. The young ones hatch at the end of the May. It feeds on small water invertebrate animals and tadpoles [6].
Similar species. None.
Negative factors. Loss and degradation of habitats, disturbance by people and predators; flooding the basins for salt extraction in the lakes Atanasovsko and Pomoriysko.
Conservation measures taken. Protected according to the Biological Diversity Act, included in the Red Data Book of Bulgaria (1985). Most of the places where it breeds are declared Protected Territories; monitoring is carried out there.
Conservation measures needed. Protection of the sites within the country where it multiplies (the microreservoir near the town of Chirpan, Byalo Pole Reservoir) and specifying urgent measures for the preservation of the species in them; study of the factors with a negative impact on its numbers; increase of the level of information among the local people.
References. 1. Michev, 1985; 2. Dalakchieva, 2004; 3. Shurulinkov et al. 2005; 4. Ornithological Database of Green Balkans Federation; 5. Nankinov et al., 2004; 6. Arabadzhiev, 1964.
Author: Svetla Dalakchieva
