Greater Yellowlegs (or maybe Lesser!)

thouc · **Reply #1 on:** June 06, 2010, 08:03:34 PM

Very nice picture.

I believe it's a Lesser Yellowlegs as the bill looks fairly thin and straight and the throat and breast look finely streaked (as opposed to heavily streaked for a Greater Yellowlegs).

/Thomas

Whittam · **Reply #2 on:** June 06, 2010, 08:33:40 PM

Hi Thomas, you may well be right. I always have trouble with these two. I thought I heard the 3 note call of a Greater YL. What do you think about the bill length. Seems longer than the width of the head vs a Lesser LY. Comments? I must admit the bill seems very straight with no upturn. All comments welcome!
Cheers Terry

thouc · **Reply #3 on:** June 06, 2010, 09:41:29 PM

My first impression when I saw the picture was Lesser, but you are right that the bill is quite long for a Lesser. A very clear, close-up picture and still difficult...

The Lesser should have the same bill length as the head and Greater 1.5 times the head. This one has about 1.25 times!