The undersides of the wings are plain black and the remainder of the plumage is white, apart from the tail feathers which are tinged with grey.

[3] The pied stilt is resident in southern Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi and most of Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.

It emits a repeated yelping cry as it flies, and the legs trail behind it, tending to sway from side-to-side.

[3] The pied stilt breeds in spring, choosing as a nesting site an area of sand or shingle by an estuary, beside a dried up riverbed, on a flat bit of coast or in a grassy field near the sea.

But the parent birds give away the presence of the nest by mounting into the air and flying in circles, uttering distress cries.