Lesser Yellowlegs

Lesser Yellowlegs; Wakodahatchee Wetlands, FL

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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

The Lesser Yellowlegs is a slender, long-legged shorebird that readily shows off the brightly colored legs that give it its name. It is an active feeder, often running through the shallow water to chase its prey.

Cool Facts

• Both the male and femal Lesser Yellowlegs provide parental care to the young, but the female tends to leave the breeding area before the chicks can fly, thus leaving the male to defend the young until fledging.

Description

• Size: 23-25 cm (9-10 in)
• Wingspan: 59-64 cm (23-25 in)
• Weight: 67-94 g (2.37-3.32 ounces)

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

Sex Differences

Sexes alike.

Immature

Similar to adult.

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 slightly smaller, has greenish yellow legs, and a slightly drooping bill.

Sound

Two-noted short whisted "tu-tu."

Range

Range Map

© 2004 Cornell Lab of Ornithology

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Summer Range

Breeds across Alaska and northern Canada eastward to western Quebec.

Winter Range

Winters in southern United States southward to southern South America, northward along the coasts to southern central California and New Jersey.

Habitat

Breeds in open boreal forest with scattered shallow wetlands. Winters in wide variety of shallow fresh and saltwater habitats.

Food

Aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates, particularly flies and beetles. Occasionally small fish and seeds.

Behavior

Foraging

Active forager, walks through shallow water and picks up prey on or below water surface, dashes after prey on land.

Reproduction

Nest Type

Depression in ground or moss, lined with dry grass, decayed leaves, spruce needles or other debris, placed on dry, mossy ridges or hummocks, next to fallen branches and logs, and underneath low shrubs.

Egg Description

Gray with brown 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

Petit chevalier (French)
Patamarilla menor (Spanish)

Sources used to construct this page:

Tibbitts, T. L., and W. Moskoff. 1999. Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes). In The Birds of North America, No. 427 (A.Poole and F.Gill,eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.