black stilt/pied stilt hybrid (Himantopus novaezelandiae x H. himantopus)

Photographed at Te Waihora/Lake Ellesmere, Canterbury, New Zealand.

Kaki (black stilt) are the rarest wading bird in the world and found only in New Zealand. They number less than 100. With numbers so low, birds can find it hard to find a mate so occasional hybridisation with the much more common poaka (pied stilt) occurs.

Done