Whimbrel

(Numenius phaeopus) (WHIM)

Photographic Identification Guide

One of our largest long-distance migratory shorebirds, Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) (WHIM) is a species with a worldwide distribution. There are at least five recognized Whimbrel subspecies nesting in disjunct areas of arctic and subarctic Asia, Europe and North America. Wintering birds use coastal locations along most of the temperate and tropical oceans of the world as well as a few inland wetlands near large water bodies.

In this guide, we provide as much detail as possible to help identify this species. The molt sequence for Whimbrel does not follow the usual pattern for most shorebirds.

visual gallery

species account

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Fig. 17. European Whimbrel. Laugarvatn, Iceland. 17 May 2018.
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Fig. 16. Comparison of American (Hudsonian) Whimbrel with European Whimbrel. Cantabria, Spain. 12 January 2018.
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Fig. 15. Whimbrels in flight. Note grayer tone of European Whimbrel. Cantabria, Spain. 12 January 2018.
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Fig. 14. Comparison of Whimbrel with Greater Yellowlegs. Note distinctive facial markings of Whimbrel. Los Lagos, Chile. 7 November 2024.
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Fig. 13. Large shorebirds. Compare bill shapes and head patterns. Barnstable, MA. 17 September 2020.
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Fig. 12. Comparison of Whimbrel and Western Willet. Worcester, MD. 27 July 2024.
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Fig. 11. Comparison of Whimbrel with Long-billed Curlew. Note buffier overall color of curlew. Yolo, CA. 9 July 2017.
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Fig. 10. Whimbrel. Molting adult. Note tertial feathers with pale, very narrow, jagged margins. Barnegat, NJ. 6 August 2018.
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Fig. 9. Whimbrel. Summer adult with frayed plumage. Orange, CA. 21 June 2024.
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Fig. 8. Whimbrel breeding adult. Note checkered back (mantle) feathers with conspicuous dark shafts. Bolivar Peninsula, TX. 13 April 2017.
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Fig. 7. Whimbrel in flight. The evenly patterned brownish back (mantle) indicates a recently molted adult. Los Lagos, Chile. 1 February 2025.
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Fig. 6. Whimbrel adult. Molt to fresh adult plumage is completed near or at wintering area. Los Lagos, Chile, 24 November 2009.
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Fig. 5. Whimbrels. First-year nonbreeding adults in flight. Note worn and frayed flight feathers. Valparaiso, Chile. 1 June 2024.
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Fig. 4. Whimbrel juvenile. Note geometric pattern of chevrons on the flanks. Winthrop Beach, Winthrop, MA. 3 September 2014.
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Fig. 3. Whimbrel juvenile. Note fresh streaks on neck and upper breast, geometric pattern of chevrons on flanks. Winthrop Beach, Winthrop, MA. 1 September 2015.
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Fig. 2. Whimbrel juveniles; Race Point, Provincetown, MA; 27 August 2021.
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Fig. 1. Whimbrel juvenile with relatively short bill. Durham, Ontario. 21 August 2024.

Throughout the seasons and age classes, most Whimbrel plumages are similar. The plumage and molt sequence is summarized below.

Juvenile: young birds, recently fledged, June to October.

See Fig. 4. This plumage is acquired immediately after natal down is shed.

Adult: feathers acquired after juvenile plumage.

See Fig 5. On most birds, completing this molt requires more than a year.

Size and weight

Females are slightly larger and have longer bills.

Body length:

16–16.75 in. (40–42 cm)

Wingspan:

30.5–35.5 in. (78–89 cm)

Bill length (juvenile):

2–3.1 in. (51–78 mm)

Bill length (adult):

2.9–4.1 in (73–103 mm)

Weight:

11–17.4 oz. (312–493 g)

Calls

Whimbrels produce a variety of calls, alarm noises and songs. The typical call during migration is a repeated too-too-too-too that resembles the alarm calls of Greater Yellowlegs but is slightly mellower and fuller.

Here are some characteristic calls or songs of Whimbrel:

Combined call and song, Nome, AK, 5/25/2013:

Song, Ahome, Sinaloa, Mexico, 4/21/2020:

Flight call, Imperial Beach, CA, 3/17/2021:

Plumage and other characteristics

Whimbrels are large shorebirds with a distinctive lined face and crown, long and down-curved bill and grayish brown plumage in all seasons; see Fig. 3, Fig. 7.

They are long-necked, long-legged birds of open, usually flooded fields, marshes and shores. The long legs are bluish or blue-gray; see Fig. 2, Fig. 9.

The lower mandible of the long bill is often bicolored, usually pinkish at the base; see Fig. 5. During breeding season, adult Whimbrels usually have a black bill. This applies to most subspecies, such as the European Whimbrel; see Fig. 17.

Once the Whimbrel chick sheds its down and develops feathers in June or July, its appearance changes very subtly over the seasons. Through careful study, it is possible to discern juvenile, first year and full adult plumages.

The juvenile bird often has a noticeably shorter bill; see Fig. 1.

Juvenile plumage, as with most shorebirds, is evenly and neatly patterned. The juvenile’s back (mantle) is boldly marked in a checkered pattern; the neck and upper breast are finely streaked. On the flanks, chevron-shaped marks create a geometric polygon pattern; see Fig. 1, Fig. 2, Fig. 3, Fig. 4.

Juveniles begin molt to first-year adult plumage starting in October or slightly later. This molt may complete between January and April, but often does not include flight feathers or tail feathers. These first-year adults are nonbreeders and mostly remain in South America. The juvenile feathers, including flight feathers, retained by these birds appear very frayed; see Fig. 5.

The molt to full (breeding) adult plumage starts in August to September of the year after hatching and completes in November to January, often near or at the wintering grounds.

Fresh adult plumage consists of a checkered pattern similar to juvenile plumage. However, neck and breast streaking is heavier. The centers of back (mantle) feathers are a paler brown than the juvenile. Each feather has pale zigzag margins and a dark, sharply defined central shaft; see Fig. 6, Fig. 8.

By summer, back (mantle) feather margins on breeding adults are worn and frayed; see Fig. 9. The pale zigzag margins, being the weakest element of the feather (due to lack of melanin), often wear off first, leaving tertials and other feathers with jagged edges; see Fig. 10.

In flight, Whimbrel upperparts are gray-brown. Under parts are mostly pale, but neck and upper breast are streaked gray and underwings are barred gray-brown; see Fig. 5, Fig. 7, Fig. 12.

Whimbrels often walk about in tall marsh or grassland vegetation, blending in easily with the surroundings. Their lined faces and heads with long bills can be picked out when they poke out above the top of the vegetation.

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Breeding range, migration, wintering range, habitat

There are two separate Whimbrel breeding areas in North America: in arctic and subarctic Alaska and northwest Canada, and on the southwest coast of Hudson Bay in Canada.

At least four other recognized Whimbrel subspecies breed in arctic and subarctic regions of the Palearctic.

Breeding habitat for Whimbrels consists of subarctic and arctic moors and grasslands adjacent to birch forests, open forests or river valleys and tundra close to tree line.

When Whimbrel adults arrive at nesting areas, their primary food source at first consists of dried berries from the previous growing season; they switch to insects as those proliferate. Flies, bees, beetles and their nymphs are an important food resource for the young. Some vegetable matter, including arctic flower petals, may supplement the food.

In fall migration, Whimbrels from breeding areas in western North America travel south along the west coasts of North America, Central America and South America. Many end up for the winter in central South America and along the southern west coast.

Eastern Whimbrels from the Hudson Bay region fly east to the Canadian Maritimes and northeastern United States in order to stage and fatten up for the long migrations ahead. Abundant berries are a major food source at this stage.

Cape Cod, Massachusetts, is a reliable fall migration stopover for these birds.

From eastern Canada and New England, many birds fly directly over the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean islands and the north coast of South America. Some trickle south along the east coast of North America, stopping at various sites in the mid-Atlantic and southeastern states before heading to the north coast of South America. From there, Whimbrels appear to take an overland route to the southeast coast of South America.

In the past, Whimbrels and other large shorebirds were shot by sport hunters when they arrived at certain islands of the Lesser Antilles. The practice continues to this day but with less intensity.

In spring, from their wintering regions in South America, northbound birds follow routes similar to southbound routes. Once they arrive in the United States, western birds follow the coast to Alaska and northwestern Canada.

Eastern birds stage along coasts of south and central Atlantic states. From March to May, many thousands are seen in locations from South Carolina to New Jersey. The flight from the mid-Atlantic states to the Hudson Bay nesting areas is through the Great Lakes region.

During migration and on the wintering grounds, Whimbrels are found in grassy fields, salt marshes and mudflats.

Food during migration and in the winter consists of vegetable matter such as berries and seeds as well as invertebrates such as beetles, spiders and grasshoppers. Crabs of all sorts are a major food source. The Whimbrel’s long, curved bill allows it to dig deep in mudflats while foraging for fiddler crabs, a particular favorite. It also takes bivalves, gastropods, fish and marine insects.

Similar species

Similar species: Whimbrel compared to Long-billed Curlew

Whimbrel (WHIM) is considerably smaller and shorter-billed than Long-billed Curlew (LBCU); for comparison, see Fig. 11.

Note the following:

Whimbrel’s head and face are boldly lined with brown stripes. Long-billed Curlew has a relatively bland face with a barely noticeable cap.
Whimbrel’s overall color is brownish with gray overtones. Long-billed Curlew’s plumage is buff overall. The underparts may be pale rufous. The upperparts are checkered brown and the upper back is darker than the sides.

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Similar species: Whimbrel compared to Willet

Whimbrel (WHIM) is larger than Eastern Willet (EAWI) and usually slightly larger than Western Willet (WEWI); for comparison, see Fig. 12, Fig. 13.

Note the following:

In all plumages, Whimbrel is speckled, checkered and barred brown with a gray cast. Eastern Willet in alternate (breeding) plumage is brownish and speckled. Western Willet is generally much grayer and less heavily streaked and barred.
Whimbrel has a very long, downturned bill. Willets have a heavy, thick-based bill with a blunt tip.
Whimbrel’s head and face are boldly lined with brown stripes. Willets have a relatively unmarked head and face, with no strong cap and a white spot ahead of the eye.
In flight, Whimbrel is brownish on the back and tail, barred on the underwings. Willets in flight display flashing black and white wings, and have a white tail with a pale gray tip.

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Similar species: Whimbrel compared to Greater Yellowlegs

Whimbrel (WHIM) is larger and browner than Greater Yellowlegs (GRYE); for comparison, see Fig. 13, Fig. 14.

Note the following:

Whimbrel has a very long downturned bill. Greater Yellowlegs has a long, tapered and often slightly upturned bill.
Whimbrel’s legs are blue or blue-gray. Greater Yellowlegs has bright yellow legs.
Whimbrel’s head and face are boldly lined with brown stripes. Greater Yellowlegs has a conspicuous eye ring.
In flight, Whimbrel is brownish on the back and tail; its underwings are barred. Greater Yellowlegs has plain gray upper wings and the underwings are spotted and barred; its tail is white with pale gray toward the tip.

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Similar subspecies: Hudsonian Whimbrel compared to European Whimbrel

The Hudsonian Whimbrel ( Numenius phaeopus hudsonicus), which breeds in the Americas, may be distinguished from the European Whimbrel ( N. p. phaeopus) easily in flight. The latter has a white stripe up its back and a mostly pale tail in contrast to the Hudsonian’s all brown back and tail; see Fig. 15.

If not seen in flight, these birds are not easily told apart. The European subspecies is grayer and more crisply marked. It has heavier streaking on the throat and breast during breeding season; see Fig. 16, Fig. 17.

At least four other subspecies of Whimbrel breed across arctic and subarctic areas of Europe and Asia. All have the white stripe up the back, distinguishing them from the American subspecies.

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