Large, stocky shorebird with long legs and a thick, straight bill. Breeding birds in the East have heavy barring on the breast and heavy mottling on the back.
Large, stocky shorebird with long legs and a thick, straight bill. Breeding birds in the West have lighter barring on the breast and lighter mottling on the back.
Found along open beaches, bayshores, marshes, mudflats, and rocky coastal zones. Often sleeps with its bill tucked under its wing.
Large shorebird with a long, straight bill. Nonbreeding birds are grayish brown overall with few markings.
Birds in flight have a distinctive black-and-white wing pattern.
Large, stocky shorebird. Juveniles in the West are grayer overall than those in the East. They also tend to be larger, but some overlap in size exists.
Juveniles in the East are browner overall than juveniles in the West. Eastern birds tend to be smaller, but there is some overlap.
Click on an image to compare
Willets are large, stocky shorebirds with long legs and thick, straight bills considerably longer than the head. Their wings are broader and rounder than those of many shorebirds and the tail is short and squared off at the base.
A large shorebird with a pigeon-sized body on long legs
crow-sizedTwo distinct subspecies occur in North America: one that breeds in the East and another that breeds in the West. (Both subspecies may be seen along the East Coast during fall migration. Eastern Willets leave the U.S. in winter for Central and South America, while some Western Willets winter along the East Coast.) Western Willets are larger but more slender, with a narrower bill than Eastern Willets. Their breeding plumage is less strongly barred than their eastern counterparts.
The Cornell Lab will send you updates about birds, birding, and opportunities to help bird conservation.
