Whimbrel

The whimbrel looks like a small curlew, with a long, downcurved bill that is shorter, and a head marked with dark stripes and a pale supercilium. Its call is a trilling series of about seven rapid whistles, which earned it the old name « seven whistler ». It searches mudflats and salt marshes for worms, small crabs and molluscs. In the Vendée it is seen mainly on spring passage and in late summer.