Black Stilt

Himantopus novaezelandiae

The black stilt or kakī (Māori), is a wading bird found in New Zealand. It is one of the world's rarest birds, with 169 adults surviving in the wild as of May 2020. Adult kakī have distinctive black plumage, long pink legs, and a long thin black bill. Black stilts largely breed in the Mackenzie Basin in the South Island, and are threatened by introduced feral cats, ferrets, and hedgehogs as well as habitat degradation from hydroelectric dams, agriculture, and invasive weeds.

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Low-Light Telephoto Systems

Identifying specific features of the Black Stilt requires high-contrast magnification. Check out the top-rated 8x42 optics.

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