Sunset Stroll with Stilts

Costa Rica is filled with various birds, all of them intriguing with different songs and beautiful plumage. I'm not a birdwatcher, so my knowledge of birds is limited to what I learned in 7th or 8th grade science class in Northern Minnesota. And since I'm not a birdwatcher, I don't carry binoculars around with me because, let's be honest, how useful will binoculars be in the zombie apocalypse?

While walking along the beach last night during sunset, I saw these hilarious little birds that appear off-balanced by their teeny tiny long spindly legs and compact little bodies. The pair were running up and down the surf finding their own dinner.

These little birds are black-necked stilts. A few cool things to know about the black-necked stilt:

• They have the second-longest legs in proportion to their bodies of any bird, exceeded only by flamingos.
• They migrate to Central America during the winter, but they breed in the United States in parts of Oregon, Nevada, Idaho and Colorado. 
• Black-necked Stilts wade for their food, and will only swim or dive when under duress. (source)

If you'd like to listen to their sounds, check out the Audubon Society's page on the black-necked stilt.