The banded stilt (Cladorhynchus leucocephalus) is a nomadic wader of the stilt and avocet family, Recurvirostridae, native to Australia. It belongs to the monotypic genus Cladorhynchus. It gets its name from the red-brown breast band found on breeding adults, though this is mottled or entirely absent in non-breeding adults and juveniles. Its remaining plumage is pied and the eyes are dark brown. Nestling banded stilts have white down, unlike any other species of wader.

Breeding is triggered by the filling of inland salt lakes by rainfall, creating large shallow lakes rich in tiny shrimp on which the birds feed. Banded stilts migrate to these lakes in large numbers and assemble in large breeding colonies. The female lays three to four brown- or black-splotched whitish eggs on a scrape. If conditions are favourable, a second brood might be laid, though if the lakes dry up prematurely the breeding colonies may be abandoned.

The banded stilt is considered to be a species of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Under the South Australian National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972, however, this bird is considered to be Vulnerable. This is due to the predation of it by silver gulls, which are considered to be a serious threat. Black falcons and wedge-tailed eagles are also predators, taking the banded stilt and its young.

French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot described the banded stilt in 1816, classifying it in the avocet genus Recurvirostra and giving it the name Recurvirostra leucocephala, "L'avocette a tete blanche" ("white-headed avocet"). He only recorded the species as being found in terres australes, the meaning of which is unclear. Amateur ornithologist Gregory Mathews interpreted this as Victoria, while Erwin Stresemann concluded this was Rottnest Island in Western Australia. The species name is derived from the Ancient Greek words leukos "white", and kephale "head". French naturalist Georges Cuvier described it as Recurvirostra orientalis the same year. Belgian ornithologist Bernard du Bus de Gisignies described it as a new genus and species, Leptorhynchus pectoralis, to the Royal Academy of Belgium in 1835.

English zoologist George Robert Gray placed the banded stilt in its own genus Cladorhynchus in 1840, noting that the name Leptorhynchus had been previously used. The genus name is from the Ancient Greek klados "twig" and rhynchos "bill". Likewise, German naturalist Johannes Gistel proposed the name Timeta to replace Leptorhynchus in 1848. John Gould had described the banded stilt as Himantopus palmatus in 1837, but recorded it as Cladorhynchus pectoralis in his 1865 work Handbook to the Birds of Australia. Gould also wrote that its distribution was unclear after it was first recorded at Rottnest Island though not elsewhere in Western Australia, and later in South Australia, until large numbers were seen by the British explorer Charles Sturt at Lepson's Lake north of Cooper Creek in what is now western Queensland. German naturalist Ludwig Reichenbach placed it in a new genus, naming it Xiphidiorhynchus pectoralis in 1845. Australian ornithologist Fred Lawson gave it the name Cladorhynchus australis in 1904. Gregory Mathews in his 1913 List of the Birds of Australia synonymised all subsequent genus and species names, using Cladorhynchus australis. He listed his subspecies rottnesti from 1913, though this has not been recognised since. Both Joseph G. Strauch in a 1978 study and Philip C. Chu in a 1995 re-analysis of bone and muscle characters found that the banded stilt was sister taxon to the avocets, with the stilts of the genus Himantopus an earlier offshoot. A 2004 study combining genetics and morphology reinforced its position as sister to the avocet lineage.

English naturalist John Latham gave the bird the name "oriental avocet" in 1824, after Cuvier's description. "Banded stilt" has been designated the official name by the International Ornithological Committee (IOC). Other common names include "Rottnest snipe" and "bishop snipe". The Ngarrindjeri people of the Lower Murray River region in South Australia knew it as nilkani.

The banded stilt is 45–53 cm (18–21 in) long and weighs 220–260 g (7.8–9.2 oz), with a wingspan of 55–68 cm (22–27 in). Adults in breeding plumage are predominantly white with black wings and a broad well-demarcated u-shaped chestnut band across the breast. The central part of the base of the upper tail is tinted a pale grey-brown. The slender bill is black, relatively straight, and twice as long as the head. The irises are dark brown and the legs and feet are a dark red-pink. The wings are long and slim and have eleven primary flight feathers, with the tenth being the longest. In flight, the wings are mostly black when seen from above, but have a white trailing edge from the tips of the inner primaries. From underneath, the wings are predominantly white with dark tips. White feathers on the head and neck have pale grey bases, which are normally hidden. Non-breeding plumage is similar, but the chest band is less distinct and often diluted to an ashy brown or mottled with white. The legs are a paler- or orange-pink. There is no difference in plumage between the sexes, nor has any geographic variation been recorded.

Juvenile birds resemble adults but have a greyish forehead and lores, duller black wings, and lack the characteristic breast band. Adult plumage is attained in the second year. Their legs and feet are grey, becoming more blotched with pink until adulthood. Nestling banded stilts are covered in white down.