A slender medium-sized shorebird with bright yellow legs and a long slightly upturned bill. Often hunts by running through shallows snatching fish and aquatic insects, a behavior most other shorebirds lack.
§ Quick facts
§ Encyclopedia
The greater yellowlegs is a large shorebird in the family Scolopacidae. It breeds in central Canada and southern Alaska and winters in southern North America, Central America, the West Indies and South America.
Source: Wikipedia — Greater yellowlegs Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
§ Identification
Field marks. Tall, slim sandpiper with long bright-yellow legs and a long, slightly upturned bill about 1.5× the head length; gray-streaked above, whitish below.
Similar species. Lesser Yellowlegs is smaller with a shorter, straight, needle-like bill (about head length) and a gentler call; size and bill proportions separate them.
Voice. A loud, ringing series of 3–4 descending notes: 'tew-tew-tew'.
§ Diet & behavior
Diet. Invertebrates probed from mud, sand, or shallow water.
Behavior. A wary, active shorebird that wades in shallow wetlands, sweeping its bill side to side and dashing after small fish; often the first to sound the alarm.
§ Range
Breeds boreal Canada; winters US coasts to South America
§ Habitat
Marshes, mudflats, flooded fields, shallow shorelines
§ Threats
Climate-driven boreal habitat shifts, coastal habitat loss, hunting pressure in some Caribbean wintering areas.
§ Conservation status
According to the IUCN Red List, the greater yellowlegs is currently classified as Least Concern.
§ What helps
Support boreal forest protection. Support coastal wetland conservation. Oppose Caribbean shorebird hunting.
§ Further reading
- Wikipedia — Greater yellowlegs
- www.allaboutbirds.org — authoritative profile of Tringa melanoleuca
- IUCN Red List — search for Tringa melanoleuca
- GBIF occurrence records
- Encyclopedia of Life — Tringa melanoleuca
§ Sources cited
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology — All About Birds
- National Audubon Society
- iNaturalist
- IUCN Red List
