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White-winged Tern: Small tern, black head, body, and underwing coverts; white rump, vent, upperwing coverts, and tail; flight feathers are pale gray. Bill is dark red to black; Red legs and feet. Fluttering, uneven flight with slow, shallow wing beats. Hovers before dipping for prey.
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Wilson's Phalarope: Medium sandpiper, gray-brown upperparts, red-brown streaks on back, shoulders. White underparts with red-brown markings on upper sides. Gray crown, white face, black eye-line that continues down neck. Black needle-like bill. Gray wings with dark flight feathers. White tail, rump.
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Wandering Tattler: Medium sandpiper, solid gray upperparts and heavily black-and-white barred underparts. Face is finely streaked and eye line is dark. Long, black bill. White eye ring. Dull yellow legs and feet. Eats insects, larvae, worms and mollusks. Quick, direct flight with rapid wing beats.
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Whimbrel: Large, long-legged sandpiper, brown and white mottled upperparts and buff underparts with faint streaks on sides and flanks. Crown is white-striped black and neck is long and streaked. Bill is long, black, and decurved. Tail and rump are brown and black barred. Legs and feet are blue-gray.
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Willow Flycatcher: Small flycatcher, brown-olive upperparts, white throat contrasting with paler breast, white to pale yellow belly. Head has darker cap, faint white eye rings. Dark wings with two white bars. Feeds on insects, spiders, berries. Weak fluttering flight with shallow rapid wing beats.
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Western Kingbird: Large flycatcher, gray upperparts, darker head, white throat and upper breast, and yellow lower breast and belly. Wings are brown. Tail is black with white edges. Feeds on insects, fruits and berries. Bouyant fluttering flight on shallow wing beats. Hovers over prey and dips down.
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White-breasted Nuthatch: Large nuthatch, blue-gray upperparts, black crown and nape, and white face, underparts. Tail is dark with white corners. Legs and feet are black. Eats spiders,insects, nuts and seeds. Weak fluttering flight, alternates rapid wing beats with periods of wings drawn to sides.
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Wood Duck: Small tree duck with brown back, white throat, purple-brown breast with white flecks grading to white belly; buff-yellow flanks. Crested head is green and purple with white stripes; white throat has two bars, one extends as a partial collar, the other extends behind and below eyes.
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Whip-poor-will: Medium-sized nightjar with gray-brown-black mottled upperparts and pale gray-black underparts. Throat is black; eyebrows and neckband are white. Tail is long and rounded with large white corner patches. Brown legs and feet. Erratic mothlike flight, flies close to the ground at night.
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White-winged Parakeet: A medium-sized parakeet, green overall with yellow-and-white wing patches, and pale, teardrop-shaped eye-ring. The green tail is long and pointed. Hooked bill varies in color from yellow-pink to olive-brown. Legs and feet are pink-gray. Swift direct flight on rapid wing beats.
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White-tailed Ptarmigan: Small grouse, mottled brown overall, white on wings, breast, belly, red eye comb, white-edged brown tail, legs covered with white feathers. It is the smallest of the ptarmigans, and the only one that nests south of Canada. Lives most of its life above timberline.
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Wild Turkey: Large, ground-walking bird, iridescent dark brown overall with black and green bars, small, featherless, blue head that changes color according to mood, and red throat wattles. Breast beard (modified feathers) is black. The legs have spurs. It is the largest game bird in North America.
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Wilson's Snipe: Medium sandpiper, brown and black mottled upperparts, buff stripes on back. White underparts, dark bars on sides, flanks. Heavily streaked head, neck, breast. Dark brown wings, nearly black primaries. Black tail with broad, red-brown central bar, white tip. Yellow-green legs, feet.
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Wedge-tailed Shearwater Dark Morph: Large shearwater, dark brown overall with black-tipped, dark gray bill. Tail is long and pointed in flight and extends past the pink legs and feet, fans to wedge-shaped when banking turns or landing. The dark morph form is most often seen off the Pacific Coast.
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Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel: Small storm-petrel, black-brown overall with large white patch on rump and central tail. Bill, legs, and feet are black. Feeds far out to sea. Flight is swift and direct, with deep wing beats and much banking and twisting. Often flies high above the surface of the water.
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White-throated Sparrow: Medium-sized sparrow with rust-brown striped upperparts, conspicuous white throat, and plain gray underparts. Head has black-and-white striped crown and yellow spots between eyes and bill. Short flights, alternates rapid wing beats with wings pulled to sides.
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Western Scrub-Jay: Medium, crestless jay, blue head, wings, tail, gray mask, back, pale gray underparts. Dark-streaked, white throat bordered by dark necklace. Bill, legs, feet are black. Eats grains, fruits, insects, frogs, lizards and eggs and young of other birds. Flies with steady wing beats.
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Western Meadowlark: Short, stocky, ground-dwelling bird with dark-streaked brown upperparts and bright yellow underparts with broad black V on breast. Crown is dark brown-and-white striped; face is white with dark eyestripes. Bill is sharply pointed. Tail is brown with white edges. Forages on ground.
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Western Gull: Large gull, gray upperparts, white head, neck, tail and underparts. Yellow eyes. Bright yellow bill with red spot near tip; Pale pink legs and feet. Gray upper wings, white-edged with white-spotted black tips. Direct flight, strong, steady wing beats, soars on thermals.
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White-crowned Sparrow: Medium-sized sparrow with brown-streaked upperparts, small white throat patch, and plain gray underparts. The white crown has distinct black lines. Wings are brown with two pale bars. Short flights, alternates rapid wing beats with brief periods of the wings pulled to sides.
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Winter Wren: Tiny wren with barred, dark brown upperparts and pale eyebrows. Brown underparts heavily barred on flanks, belly, and undertail. Tail is short. Bill is dark brown. Legs and feet are brown. Only member of the wren family found outside the Americas, occuring in Europe, Asia, and Africa.
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Wrentit: Small, noisy songbird with dark gray-brown upperparts, thick streaked, red-brown to buff-brown underparts. Bill is short and black. Tail is very long and dark. Eyes are creamy white, bill is short and gray. Legs and feet are gray. Northern birds have darker upperparts than southern birds.
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White-tailed Kite: Small hawk with gray upperparts, black shoulders, and white face and underparts. Eyes are red, bill is black. Underwings are white and gray with dark patches at bend. Tail is square, pale gray, and shorter than folded wings. Legs and feet are gray. Soars on thermals and updrafts.
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Western Screech-Owl: Small owl (kennicotti), distinct ear tufts, brown- or gray-mottled upperparts, white shoulder spots, streaked, barred underparts. Lightly mottled facial disk, has prominent dark rim. Yellow eyes, dark gray bill. Until recently considered the same species as Eastern Screech-Owl.
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Western Grebe: Large, long-necked grebe with dark gray upperparts, white underparts, gray sides and flanks. Lower face and front of neck are white; black cap extends below eye. Back of neck is black. Eyes are red. Bill is long, thin, and dull olive-yellow. Wings have white stripes visible in flight.
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White-faced Ibis: Medium wading bird, iridescent bronze-brown overall, thin band of white feathers around bare red face, long, down curved bill. Red eyes, legs, feet. Feeds on invertebrates, frogs, fish. Alternates several shallow rapid wing beats and short glides. Flies in straight line formation.
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Wood Stork: Large, odd wading bird, mostly white except for black flight feathers and tail. Upper neck and head are featherless and dark gray. The bill is thick, long, and curved downward. Legs and feet are gray black. Alternates between strong wing beats and gliding. Soars on thermals and updrafts.
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Western Bluebird: Small thrush with deep blue hood and upperparts, crescent mark across upper back, red-brown breast, and white belly. Bill, legs and feet are black. Populations are declining due to competition for nest sites with European Starlings, Tree Swallows and House Sparrows.
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Western Sandpiper: Small sandpiper, chestnut-brown, scaled upperparts, white underparts dotted with rows of dark chevrons. Head streaked with brown wash on face. Bill is dark and decurved at tip. Thin white stripes visible on dark wings in flight. Black legs and feet, partial webbing between toes.
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Willet: Large sandpiper with mottled gray-brown upperparts, white rump and lightly streaked and barred white underparts. Broad white stripes on black wings are visible in flight. Tail is white with dark brown tip. Legs are blue-gray. Flight is short and low, alternates rapid wing beats with glides.
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Western Wood-Pewee: Medium-sized flycatcher with dull olive-gray upperparts and pale olive-gray underparts. Head has darker cap and slight crest. The wings are dark with two white bars. Feeds on insects, spiders and berries. Quiet and solitary. Weak fluttering flight with shallow rapid wing beats.
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White-winged Scoter: Medium sea duck, mostly black except for white eye patches, large white wing patches. Bill is orange with large black basal knob. Red-orange legs, feet. Dives to 40 feet, feeds primarily on shellfish. Direct flight with steady wing beats. Flies in straight line or V formation.
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White Wagtail: Medium-sized wagtail, mostly white except for black upperparts and upper breast. All-white wing appears as a white wing patch when folded. The tail is black with white outer tail feathers that are conspicuous in flight and flicked continually when walking. Black bill, legs and feet.
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White-winged Dove: Medium-sized, stout dove with gray-brown upperparts, gray underparts, and small, back crescent below eye. The wings are dark gray with broad white stripes. Tail is short and brown with white corners. Bill is gray. Legs and feet are red. Fast direct flight with rapid wing beats.
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Warbling Vireo: Small vireo, gray to olive-gray upperparts, white underparts; sides sometimes washed with yellow. Eyes are dark brown, have thick, white eyebrows and faint, dark eye-lines. Gray wings and tail. Legs and feet are blue-gray. Has the largest breeding range of any North American vireo.
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Wilson's Warbler: Small warbler with olive-green upperparts, bright yellow face and underparts, distinct black cap. It has a long, olive-brown tail which it moves up and down, or in a circular fashion, as it searches for food. It is more common in the West than in the East. Legs and feet are pink.
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Western Tanager: Medium-sized tanager with brilliant red head, bright yellow body, black back, wings, and tail. Wings have two bars: upper bar is yellow, lower bar is white. Legs and feet are gray. Swift direct flight on rapidly beating wings. It was first recorded on the Lewis and Clark expedition.
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White-headed Woodpecker: Medium-sized woodpecker, mostly black with large white wing patches. Head and throat are white; nape patch is red and narrow. Small black stripe behind the eye. Bill is black and small. Legs and feet are black. This is the only North American woodpecker with a white head.
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Williamson's Sapsucker: Medium-sized woodpecker with black back and white rump. Bright red throat, breast is black, belly is yellow, and flanks are barred black-and-white. Black head has two white facial stripes. Black wings have large white shoulder patches. Tail is black, legs and feet are gray.
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White-throated Swift: Medium-sized swift, mostly brown-black except for white throat, white patches on belly, flanks, white edges on wings. Face is pale gray, has dark eye patch. May be the most rapid flying North American bird, has been seen fleeing from raptors at estimated speeds of over 200 mph.
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