they spend much of their life looking for food near the ocean in river estuaries and on tidal flats, but they lay eggs in the desert when it rains there. they lay 1-5 eggs at a time. the eggs are white, brown or black eggs. the nests are small holes scraped in the sand or sandy clay. banded stilts breed on islands created when dry salt lakes fill with water. they come to the lakes to eat the brine shrimp, "paratemia". the eggs of the shrimp can lie in the dry lake beds for many years until the rains fall.