WILLET (TRINGA SEMIPALMATA) STATUS UPDATE IN SOUTHEASTERN SOUTH AMERICA

We reevaluated the status of Willets (Tringa semipalmata) in southeastern South America on the basis of new observations and reviews of literature and on-line ornithological databases. Despite relatively few previous reports, our new data indicate that Willets are regularly present in low numbers in the region. Both Eastern (T. s. semipalmata) and Western (T. s. inornata) Willet subspecies were recorded in our study area. We extended the Western Willet's known wintering range southward reporting new records from Buenos Aires province in Argentina, Maldonado and Montevideo departments in Uruguay, and Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul states in Brazil. We confirmed the presence of Eastern Willet for the first time in Uruguay and added new reports for Argentina and Brazil. Finally, we provided the first records of over-summering Western and Eastern Willets remaining in southeastern South America during the Austral winter.