The Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus) lives mainly near fresh and saltwater marshes, in mudflats, shallow ponds, coastal lagoons, flooded fields, and rice paddies. Carnivorous, it feeds in shallow water on aquatic insects, worms, tadpoles, fly larvae, spiders but also crustaceans and mollusks which it pecks in the sand and in the water on or near the surface, occasionally dipping its head into the water.