The Lesser Yellowlegs is a trim, graceful sandpiper that seems built for wading, picking daintily through the shallows on long, bright yellow legs. Gray and streaked overall with a straight, thin bill about the length of its head, it is the daintier of the two yellowlegs, and it forages with quick, delicate pecks at the water's surface rather than the vigorous dashing of its larger cousin. Slim and elegant, it often feeds in loose flocks on mudflats and flooded fields.
Like the Greater Yellowlegs it nests in the northern boreal forest and passes through Michigan as a migrant, appearing on mudflats, marsh edges, and shallow wetlands in spring and in a long fall window. The two yellowlegs frequently occur together, making direct size and bill comparisons possible and turning them into a classic identification pairing. The Lesser is generally more numerous inland and gives a softer, shorter call than the ringing alarm of the Greater.
Wades in shallow water and along mudflats picking aquatic insects, small crustaceans, and other invertebrates from the surface with quick, delicate jabs, and takes small fish at times. It forages more by picking than by chasing, often feeding calmly in loose flocks.
The Lesser is smaller and daintier, with a straight, thin bill about as long as its head and usually a softer one- or two-note call. The Greater is larger with a longer, slightly upturned, often two-toned bill and a louder, ringing call.
No. Lesser Yellowlegs nest in the northern boreal forest and pass through Michigan only as migrants, on mudflats, marsh edges, and flooded fields in spring and fall.
Mainly during spring migration and a long fall window from summer's end into autumn, when it feeds on shallow wetlands and mudflats, often alongside Greater Yellowlegs and other shorebirds.
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