I thought cat fights were vicious until I witnessed this Willet brawl.
- Occasionally I rerun a favorite older post because few current viewers have seen it. This one was published on April 24, 2011. I’ve rewritten much of the text and cleaned up the formatting but I haven’t reprocessed the images.
Earlier this week I witnessed an incredible display of avian aggression on Antelope Island. I’ve often seen and photographed battling birds but I’ve never before witnessed such a long-lasting and vicious fight as this one between two Willets. It lasted for over 20 minutes and I took 413 photos of the action.
The conditions for photography were far from ideal. As the battle raged lighting conditions were constantly changing and the birds were often sidelit or had obstructing vegetation in front of them. But I’ll post less than perfect images of interesting behaviors in a heartbeat and I thought these photos and the behavior they document were worth another look.
Canon 7D, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, 1/1600, f/5.6, ISO 500
The Willets were already fighting as I approached them in my pickup so they mostly ignored me after pausing for a few seconds when I first drove up.
Canon 7D, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, 1/1250, f/5.6, ISO 500
In this and the following photo the bird on the right had its bill tightly clamped on the upper mandible of the other bird.
Canon 7D, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, 1/1250, f/5.6, ISO 500
The bird on the left was desperately trying to break the grip of its tormentor but it took some struggling before it finally succeeded.
Canon 7D, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, 1/1250, f/5.6, ISO 500
In this photo the same bill-grasping behavior occurs again. You can see that it’s a separate event from the one in the previous images from the differences in the setting.
Canon 7D, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, 1/1600, f/5.6, ISO 500
Cornell’s Birds of North America Online states that when these birds fight it’s not unusual for them to try to pull out each others tail feathers and that they occasionally succeed. I suspect that’s what the bird on the left might be attempting to do here.
Canon 7D, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, 1/1250, f/5.6, ISO 500
It was breathtaking to watch the incredible speed at which these birds maneuvered during the brawl. BNA has this to say about the quickness of Willets during a fight: fights “transpire so quickly that it is impossible to analyze component movements in real-time”. Boy, that’s for sure! Without stop-action photography all this fighting would have been just a blur.
Canon 7D, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, 1/2500, f/5.6, ISO 500
Whenever one of the birds was able to latch on to a body part (usually the tail, bill, leg or wing) of its opponent it was extremely reluctant to let go. And they make a lot of noise during a fight. I can hear them in my mind as I type this.
Canon 7D, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, 1/3200, f/5.6, ISO 500
This one got a stranglehold on the neck of its opponent and wouldn’t let go. For a while I thought the poor bird might be seriously injured or even killed.
Canon 7D, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, 1/3200, f/5.6, ISO 500
According to BNA, occasionally when Willets fight “each bird grasps the other’s leg, neck, or wing with its bill, immobilizing each other up to 18 minutes”. I never saw it last that long but twice one of these birds had the other pinned down for an extended period of time.
Canon 7D, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, 1/3200, f/5.6, ISO 500
I assume that the combatants here were males fighting over territory or breeding rights though the sexes are virtually impossible to tell apart and females are also known to fight each other. If the combatants were males the female they were presumably fighting over (on the far right) stood passively by during the entire episode, interested but seemingly detached at the same time.
Canon 7D, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, 1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 500
They would often use their bills as a stabbing weapons but most of my shots of that action were almost completely obscured by vegetation. This is the best one I have to show that behavior (from the bird on the right).
Canon 7D, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, 1/1600, f/6.3, ISO 500
After almost 25 minutes of fighting (I don’t know how long it had gone on before I arrived) one of the birds had apparently had enough and departed the area. I was able to get off two shots as he flew off.
What an incredible event to witness. I’ve often said that even if I don’t get any great shots on a bird photography trip I still usually enjoy the experience just by being with them, watching their behaviors and improving my photography skills.
This experience was the epitome of that kind of morning.
Ron
Remarkable series Ron !!
Thanks, Tjie.
Wow, that was intense. I have never witnessed anything that bad. Hope they both are ok. Thanks Ron!
Thanks, Jean.
Ron, what an enlightening series. I wondered what birds did in their spare time!!! Now I know what Willets do. I wonder if these two had any longstanding injuries. Thanks.
They both seemed fine at the end of the fight, Alice. A miracle.
Pecking order isn’t an empty phrase.
What an amazing sight to see. I suspect my wimpy self would have found it both fascinating and intensely confronting. I don’t do aggression well, whatever the species.
Thanks Ron.
Parts of the fight were hard for me to watch, particularly when one bird was choking the other.
Wow! I have done some wildlife rehab, and I imagine that the bird who was choked has suffered some serious internal injury. Both birds probably suffered dehydration for some time afterward. What an astonishing set of images. These birds know exactly how to hurt each other.
They were serious about their fighting, Martha – that’s for sure.
Spectacular, Ron. I once saw a pair of northern shovelers fighting. It was also vicious, and lasted “forever”–about 3 minutes. I had no idea willets had this kind of battle. I will never again think, “Oh, it’s just willet.”
Nancy, I’ve photographed Shovelers fighting a couple of times but neither one lasted as long as yours did. Here’s a few photos of one of those fights:
https://www.featheredphotography.com/blog/2017/01/17/ducks-fighting-cormorants-flying-and-geese-mating/
Wow Ron, so glad you took the time and effort to document this interesting and educational behavior. And in addition to the educational info you got some excellent photos as well. I like Dick’s idea of a Ron Dudley book. You could hook up with an experienced nature writer and then combined with your many years of outstanding photos you could come up with a beautiful book on birds.
Everett Sanborn, Prescott AZ
Thanks, Everett. But don’t hold your breath on the book…
Beautiful sequence. “Kids, it’s okay to argue as long as no one gets hurt.”
Thank you, Elmer.
Wow! What great behavior photography. Thanks for bringing it to us!
Thanks very much, Tina.
WOW! Just jaw-dropping WOW! 🙂 Amazing to capture some of the action! I also would have believed birds would fight that long or that viciously! Wonder if any ever get mortally wounded? Thought the Eagle & Hawk thing was vicious but this appears to be much more so…… GEEZ!
Thanks, Judy. I don’t know if Willets are ever killed in fights among themselves but based on what I saw that day I sure wouldn’t be surprised.
I had never realized that any birds would fight for such a long time! That’s a remarkable sequence, and I can only imagine the excitement of witnessing such a single minded contest taking place over an extended period of time. I’m glad you were able to witness this. Thank you for sharing this singular series.
“I had never realized that any birds would fight for such a long time”
At the time I hadn’t either, Alison. And this is still the only time I’ve seen birds of any species fight for anywhere near this long.
WOW! fantastic shots Ron! What a wonderful behavior display you witnessed, and to have a photographic record, just phenomenal!
I never get tired of saying, although I’m sure you do of hearing, that these shots and others you have take should be in a book! There is a wealth of avian information in your photography.
Wonderful post, many thanks for sharing.
A friend told me the same thing a few days ago. I should write a book. I can’t even imagine all the work that would be involved and I just don’t have the time or the inclination to do it.
But thank you for the encouragement, Dick.
How lucky for you to witness this! The bird in the ‘choke hold’ has a look of helplessness on his face; fortunately for him it didn’t last long enough to do serious damage. Who would even suspect such ‘gentile’ looking birds would be this aggressive but then matters of the heart can drive one to do desperate things.
“but then matters of the heart can drive one to do desperate things.”
And that tendency can transcend species, can’t it, Kathy. Humans are one of the many examples.