WILLET, a large American snipe of the genus Symplia•nia; sometimes called pill-wil lett. The bill is thick, compressed, straight. longer than the head; wings long, legs lung and strong; tail short and nearly The S. semipalmata is about 15 inches long and 31 in afar extent, the bill 2'i ; it is darkly speckled above; rump, upper tail coverts, and under parts white; tail ashy white, the two middle feathers spotted; secondaries white, with brownish black spots. The young are spotted and transversely banded with brown ish black. It is found throughout eastern temperate North America, and in South Amer ica, rarely going far from shore; on the Pacific it is represented by a distinct subspecies. It goes South in winter as far as the Gulf States where it also breeds sparingly; and is often found in company with the godwits. It breeds in both fresh and salt marshes on the ground and remains in separate flocks during the faU and winter. The eggs and the flesh, especially
of the young birds, arc excellent eating. The food consists of small crustaceans, and aquatic worms and insects. They are rather shy. rapid and strong fliers, and good swimmers if necessary, though they cannot dive. They are noisy while breeding, the shrill cry being re iterated as long as an intruder remains in sight The name is derived from the resemblance of their notes to the Owing to their shyness, the keen sight which enables them to detect the sham of decoys, and their swift, often elevated flight they are difficult to shoot, and offer fine sport to the skilful sportsman For these reasons, and because of their large size and excellent table qualities they are much sought. Consult Eliot, 'North American Shore birds' (New York 1895).