The long, spindly proportions, black-and-white pattern, and bright pinkish legs immediately identify this bird as a Black-necked Stilt. The black of the back extends up the back of the neck, hence the name Black-necked Stilt. Black-necked Stilts occur in the temperate regions of North, Central, and South America. In North America they breed along the east coast of the US from Delaware to Florida, across the Gulf states to Texas, and in the western Great Plains and basins of the western US. The Black-necked Stilt was once thought to be the same species as the Eurasian Black-winged Stilt [Himantopus himantopus], which has little or no black on the head and neck.