Willet

How to find it

Head for the Pacific coast, where the Tárcoles River mouth and the Estero Mata de Limón lagoon have both produced Willets. Check beaches, mudflats and river mouths at low tide, when birds feed on crabs. Scan through the gulls and terns, because a couple can sit among them. Wait for a bird to fly so the black and white wing pattern shows. Listen for the ringing pill-will-willet, which often gives the bird away before you see it.

How to recognise it

On the ground a Willet looks plain gray-brown, which is why it is easy to overlook. Look for these marks:

Gray legs, thick and blue-gray.

A thick, straight bill, heavier than a yellowlegs'.

A bold black and white wing pattern in flight.

A Field Guides group on the Tárcoles River described the birds as drab and fairly large, which fits the Western Willet. That form is about 10% larger than the Eastern, and in flight it looks more like a godwit, with longer wings and a more drawn-out rear end. The Eastern bird looks stockier with a shorter bill. In winter plumage the two look almost the same, and birds on the Pacific coast of Middle America are most likely the larger western form.

What it sounds like

Recording: Tom Norton, CC BY 4.0, source, read 4 Nov 2026.

Behaviour and diet

Willets are often seen feeding on crabs at low tide. They probe mud, sand and shallow water for invertebrates, so the tide line is the place to watch them work.

A Willet looks plain until it flies, and then it flashes its wings. It is noisy and easy to find on coastal beaches.

They can also hide in mixed company. A Field Guides group found a couple while sorting through gulls and terns at the Estero Mata de Limón lagoon, a good reminder to scan the whole flock rather than only the obvious birds.

Where it lives

In the non-breeding season Willets use coastal beaches, salt marshes, mudflats and rocky shores. In Costa Rica the reports come from the Pacific side: the Tárcoles River and its coastal area, the Estero Mata de Limón lagoon near Tárcoles, and Manuel Antonio, where one has been photographed.

It has even reached remote Isla del Coco, where the Costa Rican rare bird committee (AOCR) holds its first photographic record.

When to see it

The Willet is mainly a winter visitor to Costa Rica, but a few birds stay through the summer; a single adult was seen near the Tárcoles River mouth on a summer trip. On the Pacific coast it is described as abundant during passage, from August to September and from late March to late May.

Similar birds

Greater Yellowlegs is the bird to check against. The Willet has thick blue-gray legs and a heavier bill, and it shows bold black and white wing stripes in flight, which yellowlegs lack. Reports of Eastern Willets on the Pacific coast are mostly doubtful, since the two forms look almost the same in winter plumage.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

Costa Ricans call the Willet pigüilo. The Spanish list of Costa Rican birds also gives the general Spanish name playero aliblanco.

Status and conservation

The AOCR lists the Willet (Pigüilo) as M, a migrant in Costa Rica, and in 2026 it was split into Saltmarsh Willet and Prairie Willet.

Photography tips

Watch a feeding bird at low tide on a beach or river mouth, then be ready when it lifts off, because the black and white wing pattern is the picture. A March 2016 photo from the Tárcoles coastal area shows the Pacific side suits it.