Willet

Willet, breeding plumage

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Willet, nonbreeding plumage

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1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

A large sandpiper of the interior West and the ocean beaches, the Willet is known by its piercing calls and bright black-and-white flashing wings. It is the only North American sandpiper whose breeding range extends southward into the tropics.

Description

• Large shorebird.
• Bold black-and-white wing pattern seen in flight.
• Grayish overall.
• Long straight bill.
• Long, gray legs.

• Size: 33-41 cm (13-16 in)
• Wingspan: 70 cm (28 in)
• Weight: 200-330 g (7.06-11.65 ounces)

Sex Differences

Sexes look alike, female slightly larger.

Sound

Call a loud, ringing "pill-will-willet."

Conservation Status

Common. No significant population trends.

Other Names

Chevalier semipalmé (French)
Playero pihuiuí (Spanish)

Cool Facts

• Willets breeding in the interior of the West differ from the Atlantic Coastal form in ecology, morphology, and subtly in calls. Western Willets breed in freshwater habitats, and are slightly larger and paler gray. Eastern Willets have stouter bills and more barring on their chest and back. The difference in pitch between the calls of the two forms is very difficult for a person to detect, but the birds can hear the difference and respond more strongly to recorded calls of their own form.

Sources used to construct this page:

Lowther, P. E., H. D. Douglass III, and C. L. Gratto-Trevor. 2001. Willet (Catoptrophorus semipalmatus ).In The Birds of North America, No. 579 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.