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Lesser Yellowlegs
Photos by Bruce
Dayton
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ORDER:
Charadriiformes
FAMILY:
Scolopacidae (Sandpipers - 47 Species)
SPECIES:
Lesser Yellowlegs
(Tringa flavipes)
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Lesser Yellowlegs |
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The Lesser Yellowlegs was once a popular game bird but is now protected. They are a rather tame shorebird allowing close approach. The Lesser Yellowlegs is similar to a Greater Yellowlegs, with a slightly smaller body and their bill does not have the slight upturn of the Greater Yellowlegs. |
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SIZE |
The Lesser Yellowlegs is a medium sized (9-11") shorebird. |
| DESCRIPTION | They
are a slender shorebird with a long thin dark bill, long yellow legs and
a long neck. The
body is a
speckled gray-brown
on top, gray
rump with
a white belly
and tail.
Sexes
are similar in appearance. |
| NESTING | Clutch size ranges from 2-5 eggs, normally 4, which are incubated in 20 to 24 days. The nest is usually a simple shallow ground-depression (scrape) scantily lined with moss, twigs, leaves and grass. The nest is normally well hidden in a densely vegetated area. |
| RANGE | The
Lesser Yellowlegs typically nests in open boreal forest and forest/tundra
ecotone.
Virtually all of the breeding range of Lesser Yellow legs are within the
boreal bird conservation regions in North America. It migrates south to
the Gulf Coast, through Central America, the Caribbean's and to South
America.
During migration they can be spotted almost any where in the U.S. where there is a body of water, including slow-moving streams. |
| HABITAT | The Lesser Yellowlegs breeding habitat is clearings near ponds in the Boreal Forest region. They can be found in found in flooded fields, sedge marshes and shorelines of lakes and rivers during migration. |
| DIET | It is almost entirely carnivorous, its primary prey are flies and beetles, especially those found in aquatic habitats. These birds forage in shallow water, sometimes using their bill to stir up the water. Other foods include snails, naiads, worms, spiders, fish and seeds. |
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| Lesser Yellowlegs | |
| Montezuma
National Wildlife Refuge Seneca County, New York |
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| LsYg_131A_039147 | LsYg_131A_039151 |
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| LsYg_131A_039142 | |
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Meadowlark Drawing by Louis Agassiz Fuertes |
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| INTERESTING FACTS |
| Sedge |
| This is a common name for members of the Cyperaceae, a family of grass-like and rush-like herbaceous plants found in all parts of the world, especially in marshes of sub arctic and temperate zones. The Cyperaceae families of plants are commonly found in wet or saturated conditions. |
| Sedge Wren and American Bitterns are North American birds that reside in the sedge meadows. |
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Please email with any ideas or comments concerning this web page. |
| The images on this web page are copyrighted © 2003 - 2007 by Bruce Dayton. I want to share my photos to promote conservation and to help people identify and learn about the birds and other creatures that live with us on the North American continent. Please do not use any of my work in any non-profit or for-profit project without first getting written permission from me. You can ask for permission by emailing me at webmaster@wildlifeofnorthamerica.info. All reproductions must bear an appropriate credit. |
NOTE: This site will be updated as time and pictures become available.
Visit Mammals of North America
Lesser Yellowlegs
(Tringa flavipes)
Updated 10-20-2008
