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Willet

Catoptrophorus semipalmatusOrder: CHARADRIIFORMESFamily: Sandpipers (Scolopacidae)

Breeding Location:

Seashore, rocky or sandy, Marshes, freshwater, Swamps



Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Semicolonial



Breeding Population:



Egg Color:

Gray to pale olive with brown markings



Number of Eggs:

4 - 5



Incubation Days:

22 - 29



Egg Incubator:

Both sexes



Nest Material:

Lined with dry grass.



Migration:

Migratory



Splitbar

Overview

Willet: Large sandpiper with mottled gray-brown upperparts, white rump and lightly streaked and barred white underparts. Broad white stripes on black wings are visible in flight. Tail is white with dark brown tip. Legs are blue-gray. Flight is short and low, alternates rapid wing beats with glides.

Range and Habitat

Willet: Breeds from central Canada to northeastern California and Nevada and along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts south from Nova Scotia. Spends winters along coasts from Oregon and the Carolinas southward. Preferred habitats include mud banks, tides, coasts and coastal lagoons.

Breeding and Nesting

Willet: Four to five brown marked, gray to pale olive eggs are laid in a nest lined with weeds or bits of shell built in a depression on open ground or in a grass clump. Incubation ranges from 22 to 29 days and is carried out by both parents.

Foraging and Feeding

Willet: Feeds on mollusks, crustaceans, insects, and small fish; forages by picking food from shallows and probing mud with tip of its bill.

Vocalization

Willet: Call is a loud, ringing "pill-will-willet" and a quieter "kuk-kuk-kuk-kuk-kuk."

Similar Species

Willet: Yellowlegs are smaller and slimmer, with more slender bills and yellow legs, and lack striking black-and-white wing pattern.

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Family
Species Catoptrophorus semipalmatus
Length13 - 16 Inches
Wingspan27.5 Inches

Willet

Willet: Large sandpiper with mottled gray-brown upperparts, white rump and lightly streaked and barred white underparts. Broad white stripes on black wings are visible in flight. Tail is white with dark brown tip. Legs are blue-gray. Flight is short and low, alternates rapid wing beats with glides.

● Song: "pill-will-willet", "kuk-kuk-kuk-kuk"

● Foraging & Feeding: Willet: Feeds on mollusks, crustaceans, insects, and small fish; forages by picking food from shallows and probing mud with tip of its bill.

● Breeding & nesting: Willet: Four to five brown marked, gray to pale olive eggs are laid in a nest lined with weeds or bits of shell built in a depression on open ground or in a grass clump. Incubation ranges from 22 to 29 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Willet: Yellowlegs are smaller and slimmer, with more slender bills and yellow legs, and lack striking black-and-white wing pattern.

Flight Pattern

Short low flight with series of rapid wing beats.
Willet Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Willet: Breeds from central Canada to northeastern California and Nevada and along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts south from Nova Scotia. Spends winters along coasts from Oregon and the Carolinas southward. Preferred habitats include mud banks, tides, coasts and coastal lagoons.
BreedingMonogamous, Semicolonial
Population
MigrationMigratory
Weight7.6 Ounces