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Birds of Zihuatanejo

CLASS AVES

-Animals (Kingdom Animalia)

-Chordates (Phylum Chordata)

-Vertebrates (Subphylum Vertebrata)

-Birds (Class Aves)

-Shorebirds and Allies (Order Charadriiformes)

-Sandpipers and Allies (Family Scolopacidae)

-Shanks, Tattlers, and Allies (Genus Tringa)

-Willet (Tringa semipalmata)


Willets are large, long-legged shorebirds. They are grey or brown overall and they have a distinctive white rump and broad, white wing stripe visible when they are flying. Sexes are similar in color, but females are slightly larger. Willets can be active at any time of the day, they take advantage of tides and moonlight to find prey. Willets use their long legs to run after prey. Willets eat many kinds of invertebrates, depending on what is found in the local area. They eat insects, crustaceans, molluscs, worms, and occasional fish.

Willet

Tringa semipalmata

Diet

  • Primarily crustaceans, including crabs and shrimp, as well as marine worms, molluscs, aquatic insects, insect larvae, and small fish.

  • Also feeds on amphipods, snails, and occasionally seeds of aquatic plants.

  • Forages by walking through shallow water, probing mud and sand with its sturdy bill, and picking prey from the surface.

Range

  • Breeds along the Atlantic Coast, the Prairie Pothole Region of central North America, and parts of the western United States.

  • Winters along the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific coasts from the southern United States through Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and northern South America.

  • A common winter visitor to the Zihuatanejo region, where it inhabits beaches, mudflats, estuaries, coastal lagoons, mangroves, salt marshes, and rocky shorelines.

  • Most frequently observed from August through April.

Male vs. Female

  • Male: Gray-brown upperparts with lightly streaked underparts during the breeding season, plainer gray in winter, and a sturdy gray bill. In flight, both sexes display a striking bold black-and-white wing pattern. Slightly smaller than the female.

  • Female: Similar in plumage but generally larger with a slightly longer bill.

  • Non-breeding adults: Both sexes are nearly identical in appearance, making field identification by sex difficult.

  • Sexes are best distinguished by size, with females averaging larger.

Size

  • Length: 33–42 cm (13–16.5 in)

  • Wingspan: 68–74 cm (27–29 in)

  • Weight: 200–330 g (7.1–11.6 oz)

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