University of Miami alumnus Dennis Paulson’s tongue-in-cheek name for the long-legged elegant members of the stilt family is the “slenderellas.” The genus Himantopus (Greek for “strap-foot,” according to Choate’s

Dictionary of American Bird Names, or “spindle legged” according to Holloway’s Dictionary of Birds of the
United States) has several members worldwide—Himantopus himantopus in Asia, the Black-winged Stilt, looks very much like its New World counterpart, Himantopus mexicanus. Our Black-necked Stilt differs most noticeably from its Asian cousin in one respect: in addition to the wings and mask, H. mexicanus’s neck is also black.
The stilt has the longest legs in proportion to body size of all the shorebirds; its black and white plumage and pink legs make it quite the dandy, giving rise to its nickname, the “tuxedo bird.” Approach too close, however, and one discovers that this bird does not enjoy sharing its space with other party-goers. A high-pitched kek-kek-kek erupts, and this skinny little bird will rise up into the air, incredibly long legs  dangling down and extending well past the tail, to start harassing pedestrians, other shorebirds, passing raptors, encroaching Great Blue Herons—this slender little bird takes on all comers, although its vocal defense is no real threat to a determined predator.
The Black-necked Stilt can be found in marshy areas and shallow ponds across the Gulf and Atlantic coasts, on Utah’s Great Salt Lake and California’s Salton Sea. According to National Geographic’s Complete Birds, its range is spreading north in interior Western states. It is a short- to medium-distance migrant, leaving the interior for coastal regions in winter. There is a small but (from informal observations) increasing breeding population here in Palm Beach County.
During May and probably well into June, you’ll be able to see these most elegant of wading birds tending chicks at Green Cay Nature Center in Boynton Beach. They have also been spotted at Wakodahatchee Wetlands.