Greater Yellowlegs

Greater Yellowlegs

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Greater Yellowlegs, to show tail, Myakka River FL, April

Greater (left) and Lesser (right) yellowlegs, Myakka River FL, April

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1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Habitat
7. Food
8. Behavior
9. Reproduction
10. Conservation Status
11. Other Names

A common, tall, long-legged shorebird of freshwater ponds and tidal marshes, the Greater Yellowlegs frequently announces its presence by its piercing alarm calls.

Cool Facts

• Although the Greater Yellowlegs is common and widespread, its low densities and tendency to breed in inhospitable, mosquito-ridden muskegs make it one of the least-studied shorebirds on the continent.

Description

• Size: 29-33 cm (11-13 in)
• Wingspan: 60 cm (24 in)
• Weight: 111-235 g (3.92-8.3 ounces)

• Medium-sized to large shorebird.
• Long, bright yellow legs.
• Rather long neck and bill.
• White rump and tail.

Sex Differences

Sexes alike.

Immature

Similar to adult, but less heavily marked.

Similar Species

• The two yellowleg species are very similar. Size is marked different when they appear together and can be compared against each other. Greater Yellowlegs's bill appears slightly upturned and blunt-tipped, while Lesser Yellowlegs's bill is straight and sharp-pointed. Lesser's bill is always dark, while Greater's bill is grayish at the base in nonbreeding season. Voice is best distinguishing character: Greater gives three or four piercing notes, Lesser two rapid, softer short whistles (sometimes or or three).
• Solitary Sandpiper has greenish legs and a barred tail.
• Stilt Sandpiper is smaller, has greenish yellow legs, and a slightly drooping bill.

Sound

Three or four-noted, "dew-dew-dew."

Range

Range Map

© 2004 Cornell Lab of Ornithology

About the map

Summer Range

Breeds across southern Alaska and central Canada eastward to Newfoundland.

Winter Range

Winters in southern United States southward to southern South America, northward along the coasts to southern British Columbia and Connecticut.

Habitat

Breeds in muskeg, wet bogs with small wooded islands ,and forests (usually coniferous) with abundant clearings. Winters in wide variety of shallow fresh and saltwater habitats.

Food

Small aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates, small fish,frogs, and occasionally seeds and berries.

Behavior

Foraging

Wades in water and picks up prey it sees, sweeps bill side-to-side through water to catch prey by feel.

Reproduction

Nest Type

Shallow scrape or depression in moss or peat on ground, lined with dead leaves, lichens, grasses, and short, thin spruce twigs

Egg Description

Gray to brown with dark markings.

Condition at Hatching

Downy and able to walk. Leave nest in a few hours after hatching and feed themselves.

Conservation Status

Populations appear stable.

Other Names

Grand chevalier à pattes jaunes (French)
Patamarilla mayor (Spanish)

Sources used to construct this page:

Elphick, C. S., and T. L. Tibbitts. 1998. Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca). In The Birds of North America, No. 355 (A. Poole and F. Gill,eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.