Greater or lesser yellowlegs (1 Viewer)

[fiveroll]

Merlin indicates that this is a lesser yellowlegs. I struggle with the 2 birds.

 

[fiveroll]

Merlin indicates that this is a lesser yellowlegs. I struggle with the 2 birds.

New Bern, North Carolina

 

[fiveroll]

New Bern, North Carolina

6/8/2023

 

[RafaelMatias]

It's a Lesser Yellowlegs. Key feature is bill length (also shape), measured from tip to insertion on frons/forehead, compared to head length, measured from frons to back of head/nape. Lesser has bill approximately as long as head (or only slightly longer), while Greater has a longer bill (also deeper based, two-toned bill, weakly upturned, not straight).

 

[KC Foggin]

I'm going with Lesser Yellowlegs

 

[fiveroll]

👍✅

 

[Butty]

If you're good and sure that you're looking at a yellowlegs, separating the two species is normally pretty easy in a half-decent view once you've seen lots of both and got familiar with the bill-lengths: the relative lengths alone (i.e. regardless of other features) are pretty different and give the two species a quite different look - without needing to make any comparisons with head-length (not easy to do anyway) and regardless of any bill-curvature. A more difficult problem (especially if you can't see leg-length) can sometimes be telling lesser yellowlegs from solitary sandpiper (one of the Great Ignored Confusions of N American birding).

 

[fiveroll]

If you're good and sure that you're looking at a yellowlegs, separating the two species is normally pretty easy in a half-decent view once you've seen lots of both and got familiar with the bill-lengths: the relative lengths alone (i.e. regardless of other features) are pretty different and give the two species a quite different look - without needing to make any comparisons with head-length (not easy to do anyway) and regardless of any bill-curvature. A more difficult problem (especially if you can't see leg-length) can sometimes be telling lesser yellowlegs from solitary sandpiper (one of the Great Ignored Confusions of N American birding).

👍✅