Scientific name: Himantopus himantopus
They have long pink legs, a long thin black bill and are blackish above and white below, with a white head and neck with a varying amount of black. Males have a black back, often with greenish gloss. Females' backs have a brown hue, contrasting with the black remiges. In the populations that have the top of the head normally white at least in winter, females tend to have less black on head and neck all year round, while males often have much black, particularly in summer. This difference is not clear-cut, however, and males usually get all-white heads in winter.
Immature birds are grey instead of black and have a markedly sandy hue on the wings, with light feather fringes appearing as a whitish line in flight.
In southern Africa it is common across much of the region, largely excluding southern Botswana, Zimbabwe, much of Mozambique and south-eastern South Africa. It generally prefers inland and coastal wetlands, such as commercial salt pans, flooded fields, flood plains, papyrus swamps and sewage works.
It mainly eats insects, other invertebrates and fish, doing most of its foraging by locating prey visually before plucking them from the water surface, or by immersing its head in the water while locating prey with touch.
