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The best way to establish an identity on this bird is to remember that its shorter bill is about the length of its head. It is also a sandpiper with a thin build, seemingly more delicate than the Greater Yellowlegs. Primary feathers also extend to the end of the tail. It also favors only one or two syllable phrases with a softer sound, whereas the greater utters three and four syllable phrases and it is more high pitched.
The Lesser Yellowlegs also prefer shallower water that is more grassy and less open. They can be either solitary or in the company of other groups, often mixing with the Greater Yellowlegs, who migrates a little later.
This medium sized, long yellow legged shorebird often runs through shallow water seeking its prey in order to feed. Its bill is also black year round and appears to be straight, whereas the Greater Yellowlegs bill is sometimes upturned.
Lesser Yellowlegs
Boomer Lake Park, 2017
These neotropical migrants breed in the Boreal forest between Alaska and Quebec, nesting upon the ground. Some of the birds will migrate as far as South America, but many will winter along the Gulf coast in either fresh or salt water habitat.
Both the male and the female provide care for the young, but the female often leaves the male to raise the young before they can fly. He must then feed and defend them alone.
These shorebirds will also be affected by climate change. They will start breeding further north, as well as wintering more north, possibly even in Oklahoma. Their northern winter range appears to be traveling more north and east.
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