Greater Yellowlegs
Tringa melanoleuca
The Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca) is a common sandpiper found in 65 countries, weighing about 162 g. The greater yellowlegs is a large shorebird in the family Scolopacidae.
About the Greater Yellowlegs
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.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
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.
What the Greater Yellowlegs sounds like
Where it lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in Norway, Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Japan, France, Iceland.
When to see it
Best months: January, February, March, April, May, July, August, September, October, November, December, with peak activity in April. It is a resident species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Greater Yellowlegs?
- The greater yellowlegs is similar in appearance to the smaller lesser yellowlegs. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Greater Yellowlegs?
- The Greater Yellowlegs is a medium sized bird weighing about 162 g.
- Where can you see a Greater Yellowlegs?
- The Greater Yellowlegs occurs in 65 countries, including the United States, Canada, Mexico, Chile and Argentina.
- What does a Greater Yellowlegs sound like?
- You can listen to 3 field recordings of the Greater Yellowlegs on this page, contributed to xeno-canto under open licences.
- What birds look similar to a Greater Yellowlegs?
- The Greater Yellowlegs is most easily confused with the Lesser Yellowlegs, the Willet and the Common Redshank.
- Is the Greater Yellowlegs endangered?
- The Greater Yellowlegs is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Greater Yellowlegs for real
BeakBrain drills you on photos and calls until you can greet this bird by name in the field. Free to play, on any device.
Play BeakBrainEvery photo and recording on this page is credited to its author under the licence shown. Spotted a problem with this page, or have a better photo? Contribute.