Bird Guide

Lesser Yellowlegs vs Willet

Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes)

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

Sonogram of the Lesser Yellowlegs
Recorded by Doug Hynes · Call · Landing Lake, Churchill, MB, Canada · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: National Park Service, Alaska Region · Public domain
Willet (Tringa semipalmata)

Willet

Tringa semipalmata

Medium246 gCoastal

The willet is a particularly elegant and heavily built shorebird with a structure similar to that of the common redshank but being larger in size than the greater yellowlegs while resembling a godwit in flight with black primary coverts and primaries contrasting with a broad white band, white secondaries with a white rump and gray tail band. With its reclassification into the Tringa genus, it stands as the largest species in this prominent sandpiper genus. It is 31–41 cm (12–16 in) in overall length and weighs 200–330 g (7.1–11.6 oz). Voice: The willet's name is onomatopoeic and refers to its loud piercing "pill-will-willet" territorial song., which is higher pitched and repeated at a faster rate in Eastern willets than in Western birds.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Willet
Recorded by Doug Hynes · Call · Big Glace Bay Lake National Wildlife Area, Nova Scotia, Canada · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Original photo by Mdf. Cropping and brightness adjustment by Pharaoh Hound at en.wikipedia · CC BY 2.5

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