Stilts and Avocets of Zihuatanejo

FAMILY RECURVIROSTRIDAE

• Animals (Kingdom Animalia)

• Chordates (Phylum Chordata)

• Vertebrates (Subphylum Vertebrata)

• Birds (Class Aves)

• Shorebirds and Allies (Order Charadriiformes)​

• Stilts and Avocets (Family Recurvirostridae)

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Family Recurvirostridae is a family of elegant wading birds that includes the avocets and stilts. These birds are found on every continent except Antarctica and are typically associated with shallow wetlands, salt flats, lagoons, estuaries, mudflats, and the edges of lakes and ponds. Members of the family are characterized by their exceptionally long legs, slender bodies, and long bills. Avocets possess distinctive upturned bills used to sweep through shallow water in search of aquatic invertebrates, while stilts have straight, needle-like bills for picking prey from the water's surface or mud. Their diet consists mainly of insects, crustaceans, mollusks, worms, and other small aquatic organisms.