species is rare in Tasmania and an occasional vagrant to New Zealand. Ecology and behaviour Mainly found in loose colonies during the breeding season, the red-necked avocet disperses in small flocks for the rest of the year. Social in all activities and during all seasons, they are known to associate happily with stilts. Pre-mating courtship involves bill crossing and bowing dances with the female indicating their readiness to mate by crouching low with wings spread, this usually occurs in shallow water. Each pair defends their nesting territory with a range of displays and postures and will swoop repeatedly at intruders. Its voice is similar to other avocets, common calls include a fluty clear ‘tuut’ or ‘kluut’ that generally serves as a contact call with a shorter and sharper yelping notes reserved for warning calls. It can be fairly sedentary when in suitable conditions, though will quickly migrate towards coastal areas during dry weather. Diet and feeding The diet mainly consists of small invertebrates that it catches in the shallows by sweeping its slender up curved bill from side to side through the water surface and underlying mud. As, unlike other shore birds, they swim readily, this enables them to upend in deeper water (like a duck) and continue feeding. Food consists of mainly aquatic insects and their larvae such as brine shrimp, crustaceans and also seeds. Juveniles are often limited to small insects and seeds until their bill is more developed, consuming food with a pecking action rather than the water skimming done by adults. Breeding and reproduction The red-necked avocet nests in loose colonies, rarely large, mainly during August–November. This however is often highly variable depending on rainfall and water availability. Breeding usually takes place in the south western interior on areas of swamps and mudflats after rain, though small colonies have been documented nesting on Port Phillip Bay near Melbourne in Victoria. The nest consists of a shallow scrape that is lined with samphire or similar water vegetation. Clutch size consists of 3–4 eggs, usually 4 that are pyriform and a pale brown with some speckled sepia colouring. Eggs measure 36 by 50 mm. The eggs are arranged in a circle, with the acute ends toward the centre. Predators and threats Due to their relatively large size, red-necked avocets have few predators. Introduced or feral animals, including red foxes or feral cats, take chicks and eggs. Climate change