Lesser Yellowlegs Identification

The Four Keys to ID

• Size & Shape

  A slender and elegant, medium-sized shorebirds with long legs and a long neck. The bill is straight and thin, only slightly longer than the bird's head (shorter and straighter than Greater Yellowlegs' bill).

  Relative Size

  Larger than a Dunlin, smaller than a Greater Yellowlegs.

  between robin and crow

  Measurements

  • Both Sexes
  • • Length: 9.1-10.6 in (23-27 cm)
    • Weight: 2.8-3.2 oz (79.5-90.9 g)
    • Wingspan: 23.2-25.2 in (59-64 cm)

  © Fernando Farias / Macaulay Library

• Color Pattern

  Breeding Lesser Yellowlegs are grayish brown birds with vivid yellow legs. They have fine, gray streaking across the head and neck, a white eyering, and white spots on the back and wings. Nonbreeding birds are more subdued gray-brown with less streaking and spotting. Bill is entirely dark.

• Behavior

  The Lesser Yellowlegs has a graceful, high-stepping gait as it moves deftly across mudflats and marshes. Flight is buoyant and relaxed, with legs extending beyond the tail.
• Habitat

  Wetland habitats ranging from tidal flats to sewage ponds to flooded fields; often in the company of other shorebird species. Breeds in open forests and meadows interspersed with marshes and bogs.