Lesser Yellowlegs

The lesser yellowlegs is a medium-large shorebird, 23–25 cm (9.1–9.8 in) in overall length and with a wingspan of 59–64 cm (23–25 in) and a weight of 67–94 g (2.4–3.3 oz). The sexes are similar both in plumage and in overall size. In breeding plumage, the upperparts are mottled with grey-brown, black and white. The underparts are white with irregular brown streaking on the breast and neck. In non-breeding plumage, the upperparts are more uniform grey-brown. The legs are yellow. Compared to the greater yellowlegs, the bill is shorter (visually about the same length as the head), slim, straight, and uniformly dark. The breast is streaked and the flanks are finely marked with short bars. This species is similar in appearance to the larger greater yellowlegs, although it is more closely related to the much larger willet; the fine, clear, and dense pattern of the neck shown in breeding plumage indicates these species' actual relationships. The call of this bird is softer than that of the greater yellowlegs.

The lesser yellowlegs breeds across interior Alaska and northern Canada, extending eastward to central Quebec. Its breeding range lies primarily between 51° and 69° N latitude in appropriate wetland habitats. The lesser yellowlegs is a highly migratory bird. During winter, lesser yellowlegs at the Atlantic coast of North America, from New Jersey southward, travel along the Pacific coast as far north as San Francisco Bay, and throughout the coastal regions of the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf of California. They are widely distributed in Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Antilles, with the largest populations found wintering in these regions. Smaller numbers also winter inland throughout this range. This species is a regular vagrant to western Europe and elsewhere; in Great Britain about five birds arrive each year, mostly between August and October, with the occasional individual overwintering. Their breeding habitat is clearings near ponds in the boreal forest region from Alaska to Quebec.

Lesser yellowlegs forage in shallow water or on land. They primarily eat invertebrates they glean (such as flies, beetles, water boatmen, and mayflies) [1][2], small fish, crustaceans, aquatic worms, molluscs (such as snails), spiders, and seeds.[3][1] They are very active when foraging, moving quickly with a high-stepping gait, neck outstretched, to pick at prey with quick jabs of the bill. Less often, they probe into mud or sweep the bill back and forth through water. Sometimes forages at night