Friday 23 September 2022

Willet (Tringa semipalmata)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Tringa (bird named by Aristotle) semipalmata ("semipalmated - partially webbed")

 

Non-breeding Willet (subspecies T. s. inornata) at Hayward, California - September 2022

Featured Subspecies: Tringa semipalmata inornata
Weight: 200-330g/kg  /  Length: 33-41cm  /  Wingspan: 70cm
NO UK STATUS IUCN Red List: Least Concern

The willet is in some ways a slightly confusing looking bird to someone used to British birding - it's most closely related to the shanks but is substantially more larger, being much more on a scale with godwits, a feature to which its only visible in flight black and white wing barring also suggests. To me it's call also registered as more like an Oystercatcher than anything else. They proved to be one of the more common large waders we saw.

Related Species:
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Scolopacidae
Genus: Tringa
SUBSPECIES: T. s. inortnata, T. s. semipalmata

 - Sighting Locations -

UNITED STATES 
Breeds in North West of the Lower 48 and the North East Coast, Wintering along the coast
 - CALIFORNIA 2022 TRIP: Seen at HaywardBerkeley and Monterey

 Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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