Friends of the Clearwater Species Spotlight:
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca) |
| The Greater Yellowlegs makes use of ponds and wet meadows in our region. © William L Newton/CLC. |
by Will Boyd, from the April 2005 Newsletter
A migrant through Idaho, the greater yellowlegs makes use of ponds and wet meadows in our region to fuel up for its continuing flight north on its way to breeding grounds across central Canada and southern Alaska. This rather large shorebird will breed in open boreal forest, muskeg, or in wet bogs. Greater yellowlegs winter along both Atlantic and Pacific coasts, the Gulf of Mexico and throughout coastal South America in shallow fresh and saltwater habitats. They use their long thin bills to probe mud for the majority of their food, aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates, but they are known to consume small fish and frogs as well.
The greater yellowlegs is appropriately named, as its long bright yellow legs make it easy to distinguish from most other shorebirds. They can be easily confused with the lesser yellowlegs, however, a bird nearly identical in shape and markings. Just as a hairy and downy woodpecker can be distinguished when side by side, so it is with these two waders. There are several reliable ways to know you're looking at the greater of the yellowlegs when the two aren't side by side, though. T. melanoleuca has a significantly longer bill which is slightly upturned, stronger markings along the flanks, and a sharp 3-5 syllable call, often given when alarmed and in flight. The lesser yellowlegs (T. flavipes) has a shorter, straight bill and a softer series of call notes usually only one or two syllables.
This is a good time to observe greater yellowlegs, as they are often one of the earliest shorebirds back in the Clearwater region. To learn more about the shorebirds that pass through our region visit the Palouse Audubon Society's Web site at http://www.palouseaudubon.org/. You can download a checklist for all of the birds in Latah County or the greater Palouse.
|
Copyright: Copyright on articles, recipes and
images are jointly held by the Moscow Food Co-op and the respective contributors,
except were otherwise noted.
|
For additions or corrections to this page, please contact the Webmaster.
