Bird Gallery Index
Eastern Willet (breeding plumage)
© Joseph Kennedy
Bolivar Flats, June 16, 2007
Family: (Scolopacidae) Sandpipers, Phalaropes, and Allies
Preferred Habitat: Coastal marshes and beaches
Seasonal Occurrence: Common throughout the year. Nests in our area.
Notes: Large gray sandpiper with striking black and white wings. In summer body is mottled gray-brown, in winter solid pale gray. A Willet is about the same size as the Greater Yellowlegs but its body is much heavier, and it has gray legs and a dark bill. There are 2 subspecies: eastern and western. Western Willets are slightly larger than eastern Willets with paler plumage. For a detailed description of subspecies differences, please see The Sibley Guide to Birds or The Shorebird Guide by Kevin Karlson et al. Cin-Ty Lee in his Birdwalk at Bolivar Flats writes that in June (when Joseph Kennedy took these photos), eastern Willets are in breeding plumage, whereas the western Willets are primarily one-year old birds and are still in winter plumage.
- Susan Billetdeaux
