Lesser Yellowlegs

(Tringa flavipes) (LEYE)

Photographic Identification Guide

The graceful and elegant Lesser Yellowlegs (LEYE) is distinguished from other medium-sized sandpipers by its long, bright yellow legs. LEYE nests in swampy habitats from north-central Canada west into Alaska. Migrating Lesser Yellowlegs may be seen anywhere in wetlands in North America and wintering birds are found from the southern US all the way to the southern tip of South America.

In this guide we provide as much detail as possible to help identify this species. When discussing plumages, we use the terms winter, spring and summer to refer to northern hemisphere seasons. Because some of these birds spend parts of the year in the northern and southern hemispheres, the correct technical terms for the plumage stages—basic and alternate—help avoid the confusion of seasonal terminology.

visual gallery

species account

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Fig. 1. Lesser Yellowlegs. Gray-brown winter (basic) plumage with pale zigzag margins. Florida. Winter.
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Fig. 2. Lesser Yellowlegs. Winter (basic) plumage. Note conspicuous eye ring, faintly marked flanks. Florida. Winter.
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Fig.3. Lesser Yellowlegs in flight. Spring (alternate) plumage. Note lack of wing stripe. Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, TX. 12 April 2017.
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Fig. 4. Lesser Yellowlegs. Winter (basic) molting to spring (alternate) plumage. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, NJ. 4 May 2023.
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Fig. 5. Lesser Yellowlegs. Spring (alternate) plumage. Hornsby Bend, Austin, TX. 21 April 2014.
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Fig. 6. Lesser Yellowlegs are notoriously pugnacious fighters. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, NJ. 26 April 2023.
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Fig. 7. Lesser Yellowlegs. Summer (alternate) beginning molt to winter (basic) plumage. Arlington Reservoir, Lexington, MA. 8 October 2021.
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Fig. 8. Lesser Yellowlegs. Spotted brown juvenile plumage. Quincy, MA. 25 August 2015.
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Fig. 9. Comparison of Lesser Yellowlegs and Greater Yellowlegs. Winter (basic) plumage. Cape May, NJ. 2021.
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Fig. 10. Greater Yellowlegs (GRYE), Lesser Yellowlegs (LEYE), and dowitchers. Note slightly more upright stance of GRYE. Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, MA. 14 September 2022.
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Fig. 11. Lesser Yellowlegs, Greater Yellowlegs and Short-billed Dowitcher. Quincy, MA. 25 August 2015.
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Fig. 12. Comparison of Lesser Yellowlegs and Stilt Sandpipers. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, NJ. 26 April 2023.

The photos in this species account are arranged in this order:

Basic: winter plumage, late October to March.

See Fig. 1, Fig. 2. A few birds begin molting into winter (basic) plumage in the fall but most delay the molt until late fall or winter, after they arrive at their wintering areas.

Alternate: first spring and summer after hatch year or adult breeding plumage, March to August.

See Fig. 5. Beginning in spring, winter (basic) feathers on LEYE are gradually replaced by alternate feathers. Most alternate feathers last until fall of the same year, but they display wear by July or August.

Juvenile: young birds, recently hatched, June to September.

See Fig. 8. These feathers are acquired on the breeding grounds immediately after the natal down is shed and before the young begin their migration.

Size and weight

Body length:

9.25–10 in. (23–25 cm)

Wingspan:

23.5–25.5 in. (59–64 cm)

Bill length:

1.3–1.6 in. (33–40 mm)

Weight:

2.4–3 oz. (68–86 g)

Calls

Lesser Yellowlegs have short clucking calls when they flush, usually transcribed as tu-tu, often a series of two notes, sometimes three. They also have a yodeling call that is similar to one given by Greater Yellowlegs.

Calls in Viera Wetlands, FL, 2014:

Calls in Valdez-Cordova, AK, 2015:

Yodeling, Magee Marsh, Ohio, 2007:

Plumage and other characteristics

Bill is short, thin and straight, about the same length as the head; see Fig. 1.

In all plumages, LEYE displays a conspicuous white eye ring; see Fig. 1, Fig. 2.

Winter (basic) mantle of LEYE, as with most winter shorebirds, is gray. Each gray back (mantle) feather has pale zigzag margins and is bisected by a darker center shaft. Undersides of winter (basic) bird are white with faintly marked flanks; the neck and head are streaked; see Fig. 1, Fig. 2.

In winter (basic) and spring or summer (alternate) plumage, tertials (long feathers covering the primaries when the wings are folded) are strongly barred with dark brown; see Fig. 2, Fig. 4, Fig. 5.

For spring and summer (alternate) plumage, LEYE acquires contrasting, black-centered feathers on the mantle and heavier streaking on the neck and head. The flanks are barred with strong black and white marks that spread to the underbelly; see Fig. 5.

Spring (alternate) and summer (alternate) are the same plumage, but as the seasons progress, LEYE alternate plumage begins to look different because the feathers become worn.

Most Lesser Yellowlegs retain their summer (alternate) or juvenile plumage until they reach the wintering areas. Some occasionally show signs of molt in the fall; see Fig. 7.

Newly fledged young birds arrive from northern Canadian breeding grounds in late summer, displaying a fresh, spotted mantle. The tertial feathers (long feathers that cover most of the primaries) have pale zigzag margins; see Fig. 8.

Flight features (most are shown in Fig. 3):

Top side of wings are gray with no wing stripes.
Underwings have pale barring and spotting.
Outer primaries are dark, unmarked gray.
Inner primaries, secondaries, tertials and inner wing coverts are finely spotted.
Rump is white.
Tail tip is barred gray and white.

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Breeding range, migration, wintering range, habitat

Lesser Yellowlegs forage in salt marshes as well as along shallow edges of lakes and oceans. They forage for mud worms, insect larvae and other small prey.

Lesser Yellowlegs often stay and feed in a salt marsh or shallow pond throughout a tide cycle, as opposed to Greater Yellowlegs, which often fly out to shallow tidal areas to feed at low tide, then return to roost in salt marshes at high tide.

LEYE breeds in subarctic regions of Canada and Alaska in swampy muskeg habitats.

LEYE migrations cover nearly the entire western hemisphere except for arctic regions; they are among the most widespread of western hemisphere shorebirds.

The winter range covers the southeastern and southernmost US and all the way to southern South America.

Similar species

LEYE compared to GRYE

Lesser Yellowlegs (LEYE) and Greater Yellowlegs (GRYE) have similar habitats, habits and general looks; they can be surprisingly difficult to distinguish unless they are together. When seen together, the size difference makes them unmistakable; see Fig. 9, Fig. 10, Fig. 11.

Note the following:

LEYE’s bill length is about equal to the length of the head, in some cases perhaps slightly longer. GRYE’s bill length is 1.25-1.5 times the length of the head.
LEYE’s bill is relatively thin throughout, and straight. GRYE’s bill is thick at the base and tapers and curves upward about halfway out.
LEYE’s bill is usually all black in the winter. The inner third of GRYE’s bill is often pale.
LEYE is overall browner than the slightly more grayish GRYE.
GRYE is breast heavy, with more of the mass of its body ahead of the legs. As a result, when perched, GRYE stands more upright in order to balance its weight; see Fig. 10.
LEYE calls are shorter, with a clucking quality; usually repeated only twice, occasionally three notes or more. GRYE generally has a piercing three-note call but it can also contain up to five notes.
LEYE tends to stay in salt marshes throughout a tide cycle, feeding on small invertebrates. GRYE moves with the tides more, feeding in marshes at high tide but moving to shallow coastal areas at lower tides. They often chase fish.

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LEYE compared to SBDO

Lesser Yellowlegs (LEYE) and dowitchers (either species) are similar in body size; dowitchers appear short and chunky while LEYE appears tall and sleek.

Note the following:

Spring and summer (alternate) and winter (basic) dowitcher plumage is duller brown than the speckled gray-brown of LEYE; see Fig. 10.
Juvenile SBDO has dull-colored grayish or greenish legs and a rusty overall look compared to the specked gray of juvenile LEYE with bright yellow legs; see Fig. 11. SBDO’s bill is tubular and blunt tipped. LEYE’s bill is tapered and pointed.
The prominent facial feature of LEYE is a white eye ring. The main facial feature of SBDO is a prominent eyebrow (supercilium) and a prominent cap.
In flight, LEYE has a faintly barred white tail and all gray wings; SBDO has a prominent white stripe up the center of the back and pale tips to the rear inner half of the wings (secondary flight feathers) as seen from above; see SBDO Fig. 24.

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LEYE compared to STSA

Lesser Yellowlegs (LEYE) and Stilt Sandpiper (STSA) are similar in size, with LEYE slightly longer-bodied and longer-necked. For an illustration of these and other features, see Fig. 12.

LEYE’s bill is straight, tapered and fine-tipped. STSA’s bill is longer, slightly down-curved and blunt at the tip.
LEYE’s legs are bright yellow; STSA’s legs are greenish or brownish-yellow. (But beware of mud-stained legs.)
LEYE has a conspicuous eye ring in all plumages. STSA has a pale supercilium (white eyebrow). In spring and summer (alternate) plumage, STSA has a smudgy rufous patch through the eye.
Mantle and upperparts of LEYE are checkered or spotted, unlike the gray or splotchy STSA mantle.

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