The Greater Yellowlegs is a tall, elegant, long-legged sandpiper that seems perpetually alert, wading briskly through shallow water on its namesake bright yellow legs. Gray-streaked overall with a long, faintly upturned bill, it is a nervous, vocal bird — quick to sound off with a ringing, three- or four-note "tew-tew-tew" alarm call that often gives away the presence of other shorebirds too, earning it the nickname "tattler" or "telltale."
Greater Yellowlegs do not breed in Michigan; they nest in the boggy northern forests of Canada and Alaska and pass through the state as migrants, appearing on mudflats, flooded fields, and marshy shorelines in spring and again in a long fall window. They forage actively, sometimes dashing after small fish in the shallows or sweeping the bill side to side through the water. The very similar but smaller Lesser Yellowlegs often travels alongside them, making the two a classic identification challenge.
Wades and dashes through shallow water hunting small fish, aquatic insects, and crustaceans, sometimes running after minnows with its bill lowered or sweeping it sideways through the water. On mudflats it also probes and picks for insect larvae and other invertebrates.
The Greater is noticeably larger with a longer, thicker, slightly upturned bill (often looking two-toned) and typically gives three or four ringing notes. The Lesser is daintier with a straight, thinner bill and usually a softer one- or two-note call.
No. Greater Yellowlegs nest in the northern bogs of Canada and Alaska. In Michigan they occur only as migrants, passing through on mudflats and wet fields in spring and fall.
Its loud, ringing alarm calls carry far and alert every bird on the flat to danger, flushing shorebirds a hunter or predator was hoping to approach — behavior that earned it the old names "telltale" and "tattler."
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