Lesser Yellowlegs
Tringa flavipes

Description 10 1/2" (27 cm). A slender, gray-streaked wader with conspicuous white rump and long yellow legs. A smaller, more slender edition of the Greater Yellowlegs, with a proportionately shorter, straighter, more slender bill. Looks longer-legged than Greater Yellowlegs.

Voice A flat tu-tu, less musical than call of Greater Yellowlegs.

Habitat Breeds in northern bogs; frequents marshy ponds, lake and river shores, and mudflats during migration.

Nesting 4 buff eggs, blotched with brown, in a slight depression on the open ground near water.

Range Breeds from Alaska to Hudson Bay. Winters on coasts from southern California and Virginia southward, and along Gulf Coast.

Discussion The Lesser Yellowlegs is tamer than its larger relative and often allows close approach. Both species of yellowlegs bob their heads up and down when watching an intruder. It was formerly a favorite game bird--not because shooting it was good sport but because the birds were good eating--but is now fully protected.

Seasonal Distribution