The Willet breeds in central U.S. and Canada and winters along the North American and South American coasts. The Willet is a common visitor to the Bay Area in the winter. Their non-breeding plumage looks quite gray and drab until they take off. Then the underside of their black-and-white wings is on display. A flock of them is quite spectacular.

Willets mainly eat aquatic insects and other invertebrates. Along the coast they also eat crabs, mollusks, and small fish.