Black-winged Stilts - Yala, Sri Lanka

Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus) - Yala, Sri Lanka

Black-winged stilts are common waders found in most Sri Lankan tanks. Their distinct red legs and black wings make identification straightforward. I hadn't actually photographed this species before our last trip to Yala and was quite keen to get a few shots of them in flight.

More photographs inside.

Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus) - Yala, Sri Lanka

We stayed at a house outside the park during our time in Yala. Just before leaving for Colombo, I walked down to the bottom of the garden and found a number of Black-winged Stilts in the tank adjacent to the property. The photographs on this post were shot during the 30 minutes I spent at the tank.

Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus) - Yala, Sri Lanka

Males of this species are said to have a black back with a greenish gloss while female's backs have a brown hue. Immature birds are grey in colour  instead of black and have a sandy hue on their wings. The Black-winged Stilt belongs to the avocet family and mainly feed on insects and crustaceans.

Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus) - Yala, Sri Lanka

These photographs were taken with the canon 7D and the 100-400mm lens. If I were to take these shots again, I would probably get lower down to the ground and shoot at a similar level to the birds as they fly past.