Willet Identification

The Four Keys to ID

• Size & Shape

  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.

  Relative Size

  A large shorebird with a pigeon-sized body on long legs

  crow-sized

  Measurements

  • Both Sexes
  • • Length: 13.0-16.1 in (33-41 cm)
    • Weight: 7.0-11.6 oz (200-330 g)
    • Wingspan: 27.6 in (70 cm)
• Color Pattern

  Willets are gray or brown birds that, when flying, display a striking white and black stripe along each wing. In summer, Willets are mottled gray, brown, and black; in winter they are a more consistent plain gray. The legs are bluish gray.

• Behavior

  Willets are often seen alone. They walk deliberately, pausing to probe for crabs, worms and other prey in sand and mudflats, or to pick at insects and mollusks. When startled, they react with a piercing call, often opening their wings and running rather than taking flight.

• Habitat

  In winter, Willets feed on beaches and rocky coasts, as well as mudflats and marshes. During breeding season the western population moves far inland to nest in grasslands and prairies near freshwater. Eastern Willets breed in coastal saltmarshes and on barrier beaches and islands.