Greater Yellowlegs vs Lesser Yellowlegs

Greater Yellowlegs

Tringa melanoleuca

Medium162 gWetland

The greater yellowlegs is similar in appearance to the smaller lesser yellowlegs. Its closest relative, however, is the greenshank, which together with the spotted redshank form a close-knit group. Among them, these three species show all the basic leg and foot colours found in the shanks, demonstrating that this character is paraphyletic. They are also the largest shanks apart from the willet, which is altogether more robustly built.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recorded by Yolima Pardo · Toca, Boyaca, Colombia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Mike Baird (bairdphotos.com) · CC BY 2.0

Lesser Yellowlegs

Tringa flavipes

Medium78 gWetland

The lesser yellowlegs is a medium-large shorebird, 23–25 cm (9.1–9.8 in) in overall length and with a wingspan of 59–64 cm (23–25 in) and a weight of 67–94 g (2.4–3.3 oz). The sexes are similar both in plumage and in overall size. In breeding plumage, the upperparts are mottled with gray-brown, black and white. The underparts are white with irregular brown streaking on the breast and neck. In non-breeding plumage, the upperparts are more uniform gray-brown. The legs are yellow.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recorded by Doug Hynes · Call · Landing Lake, Churchill, MB, Canada · CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: National Park Service, Alaska Region · Public domain

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Greater Yellowlegs and Lesser Yellowlegs.