The Pied Stilt walks through shallows on long legs, probing with a fine bill. h. leucocephalus in New Zealand.
Adults have a white body, black back and wings, dark markings behind the head, long pink legs, and a fine black bill. In juveniles the dark markings on the back of the head and neck are mottled and paler.
The New Zealand population gathers at wetlands and coasts and searches shallow water or mud for aquatic insects and larvae. It nests on the ground near water, and both parents incubate the eggs.
In New Zealand both parents build a ground nest near water with mud and vegetation, and incubate 3–4 eggs for about 25 days.
In New Zealand chicks have brown down, dark blotches on the back and white underparts. They leave the nest when dry and find their own food. Parents brood them and continue caring for them after they can fly.
In New Zealand it feeds when low tide exposes its feeding grounds. It gives high-pitched alarm calls, and flocks flying at night also use contact calls.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.