Greater Yellowlegs

The Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca) is a large shorebird similar in appearance to the smaller Lesser Yellowlegs.

Adults have long yellow legs and a long thin dark bill which has a slight upward curve and is longer in length than the head. The body is grey brown on top and white underneath; the neck and breast are streaked with dark brown. The rump is white.

Their breeding habitat includes bogs and marshes in the boreal forest region of Canada and Alaska where they nest on the ground, usually in well-hidden locations near water.

They migrate to the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the United States and south to South America. They are very rare vagrants to Western Europe.

These birds forage in shallow water by using their bill to stir up the water. They mainly eat insects and small fish, as well as crustaceans and marine worms.

The call of this bird is harsher than that of the Lesser Yellowlegs.