Abstract
Eight polymorphic microsatellite primer pairs were developed for the critically endangered New Zealand black stilt, Himantopus novaezelatidiae, representing the first microsatellite markers available for birds in the family Recurvirostridae. The number of alleles ranged from two to four per locus. Observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.30 to 0.80 and from 0.37 to 0.70, respectively. All eight loci were polymorphic in the related species Himantopits himantopus leucocephalus, indicating these primer pairs may be useful for additional taxa in the globally distributed genus Himantopus.