greater yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONFIRMATION STATUS: Confirmed.

 

IDENTIFICATION:

• Length: 11 inches

• Medium-sized long-legged shorebird

• Long, thin bill is slightly upturned

• Dark bill often has a slightly paler base

• Bill length is approximately 1.5 times the length of the head

• Bright yellow legs

• White tail is crossed with thin black bars

• Sexes similar

• Juvenile similar to basic-plumaged adult

Adult alternate:

• Head, neck, and chest are extensively streaked with black

• Pale flanks are barred with black

• Whitish belly with sparse dark bars and chevrons

• Back and upperwings are dark brown, dappled with black and white

• White notches on wing feathers appear as white spots on back

• Whitish supercilium and eyering, dusky lores

Adult basic:

• Head and neck pale, streaked sparsely with brown

• Breast, and to a lesser extent, flanks, streaked and spotted with gray-        brown

• Dark brown back, with pale flecks and feather edges

• Buff notches on wing feathers appear as white spots on back

Similar species:

Solitary sandpiper is smaller, shorter-billed and has a bolder eye ring,
a dark rump, and green legs. The lesser yellowlegs is very similar but
is smaller, with a straighter and proportionately shorter bill that is
uniformly dark. In alternate plumage lesser yellowlegs has short,
indistinct bars on flanks. The safest way to distinguish the two is the
call: a harsh series of three or more notes in greater yellowlegs
versus a softer, mellower single or double note of the lesser yellowlegs.

 

LIFE HISTORY

Migration Status: N/A
Breeding Habitat: N/A
Nest Location: N/A
Nest Type: N/A
Clutch Size: 4
Length of Incubation: 23 days
Days to Fledge: 18-20
Number of Broods: 1
Diet: Primarily fish, aquatic invertebrates

 

SKY MEADOWS DISTRIBUTION/SEASONAL OCCURRENCE

 

Relative abundance and seasonal occurrence are indicated in red below.

 

Relative abundance
     C - Common: Likely to be present in good numbers in appropriate habitat and season.
     U - Uncommon: May be present in appropriate habitat and season, often in low
            numbers.
     O - Occassional: Found in appropriate habitat perhaps only a few times per season,
            sometimes low numbers.
     R - Rare: May not be recorded every year.
     Acc - Accidental: Recorded once or twice, may not be expected again for a long time.

 

Seasonal Occurrence
      Sp - Spring: March, April, May R
      Su - Summer: June, July, August
      Fall: September, October, November Acc

      Winter: December, January, February

 

 

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