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Willet Catoptrophorus semipalmatus Vadeador Aliblanco,
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Breeding plumage - Photo:
G. Beaton
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Willet Catoptrophorus semipalmatus Vadeador Aliblanco,
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Breeding plumage - Photo:
G. Beaton
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IDENTIFICATION: A large, brown-backed shorebird, with a dramatic black and white wing pattern visible in flight. In non-breeding plumage the back is gray. Length: 33-41 cm.; weight: 173-375 g. VOICE: A very loud "willet", or "per-will-willet." Audio (M. Oberle). HABITAT: Mudflats, mangroves, and edges of ponds. HABITS: Feeds on insects, crabs, small fish, molluscs and worms which it catches by pecking, probing in mud, or moving its bill back and forth in shallow water. As in many long-billed shorebirds, the tip of the WilletÆs bill is flexible, which aids in grabbing marine worms and other food deep in sand or mud. Also, like many shorebirds, it sometimes rests on one leg (see photo below). The nest is a shallow scrape in sand. Both sexes incubate the four eggs for 21-29 days, but the female sometimes abandons the male who then attends to the young for a few weeks after they hatch. STATUS AND CONSERVATION: An uncommon migrant from North America, with a few birds lingering into summer. Has recently bred in Puerto Rico. RANGE: Breeds in the Bahamas, Antigua, and Greater Antilles, as well as in North America from New Brunswick south to Mexico, and in the northern Great Plains. Migrants from North America spend the winter as far south as coastal Brazil and Peru. In Puerto Rico, a regular location to find this species is at Cabo Rojo. TAXONOMY: CHARADRIIFORMES; SCOLOPACIDAE; Scolopacinae |
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Breeding plumage - Photo: B.
Hallett
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Non-breeding plumage - Photo: G. Beaton
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Photo: G. Beaton
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Photo: R. Rodrφguez Mojica
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Photo: B. Hallett
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References Bent, A.C. 1929. Life histories of North American shore birds, part 2. Smithsonian Instit. U.S. National Museum Bull. 146. (Reprinted by Dover Press, NY, 1962). Collazo, J.A., B.A. Harrington, J. Grear, and J.A. Colón. 1995. Abundance and distribution of shorebirds at the Cabo Rojo salt flats, Puerto Rico. J. Field Ornithol. 66:424-438. Douglas, III, H. D. 1998. Response of Eastern Willets (Catoptrophorus s. semipalmatus) to vocalizations of Eastern and Western (C. s. inornatus) willets. Auk 115:514-518. del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott, and J. Sargatal, eds. 1996. Handbook of Birds of the World, Vol. 3. Hoatzin to Auks. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. Ehrlich, P.R., D.S. Dobkin, and D. Wheye. 1988. The birderÆs handbook: a field guide to the natural history of North American birds. Simon and Schuster/ Fireside, NY. Hayman, P., J. Marchant, and T. Prater. 1986. Shorebirds: an identification guide. Houghton Mifflin, Boston. Lowther, P. E., H. D. Douglas, III, and C. L. Gratto-Trevor. 2001. Willet (Catoptrophorus semipalmatus). No. 579 in The birds of North America (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. Paulson, D. 1993. Shorebirds of the Pacific Northwest. Univ Washington, Seattle. Pérez-Rivera, R.A. 1980. Algunas notas sobre migración de aves en Puerto Rico. Science-Ciencia 7(4):123-126. Raffaele, H.A. 1989. A guide to the birds of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Princeton. Raffaele, H.A. 1989. Una guía a las aves de Puerto Rico y las Islas Vírgenes. Publishing Resources, Inc., Santurce, PR. Raffaele, H.A., J.W. Wiley, O.H. Garrido, A.R. Keith, and J.I. Raffaele. 1998. Guide to the birds of the West Indies. Princeton. Saliva, J.E. 1994. Vieques y su fauna: Vieques wildlife manual. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Boquerón, PR. Wunderle, J.M., Jr., R.B. Waide, and J. Fernández. 1989. Seasonal abundance of shorebirds in the Jobos estuary in southern Puerto Rico. J. Field Ornithol. 60:329-339. Next related species in taxonomic order Previous related species in taxonomic order |