Species: Tringa melanoleuca

Greater Yellowlegs

Species

Birds

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Salish Sea-reliant birds

Terrestrial vertebrates: birds

Encyclopedia of Puget Sound

Classification

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Craniata

Class

Aves

Order

Charadriiformes

Family

Scolopacidae

Genus

Tringa

NatureServe

Source:
ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.105760

Classification

Other Global Common Names

Maçarico-Tititiu, Maçarico-de-Perna-Amarela - Patamarilla Mayor, Pitotoy Grande - grand chevalier

Informal Taxonomy

Animals, Vertebrates - Birds - Shorebirds

Formal Taxonomy

Animalia - Craniata - Aves - Charadriiformes - Scolopacidae - Tringa

Ecology and Life History

Migration

false - false - true - Migrates throughtout North America south of breeding range. Arrives in northern U.S. April-May or June during northward migration. Departures from breeding areas begin in mid-July (Hayman et al. 1986). Most common in fall in Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands (Raffaele 1983). Migrates through Costa Rica Aug. or September-October and April-May (Stiles and Skutch 1989). Usually migrates in small flocks, day or night.

Non-migrant

false

Locally Migrant

false

Food Comments

Feeds on small fishes, insects and their larvae, snails, crabs, worms, and tadpoles. Wades through water and pecks at food with bill or skims suface with lower mandible.

Reproduction Comments

Breeding begins in late May or early June (Harrison 1978). Usually 4 eggs are incubated (probably by both sexes) for 23 days (Terres 1980). Nestlings are precocial. Young are tended by both adults; capable of first flight in about 18-20 days.

Ecology Comments

Generally not as gregarious as lesser yellowlegs; nonbreeding: usually solitary or in small groups.

Length

Weight

171

Conservation Status

NatureServe Global Status Rank

Global Status Last Reviewed

1996-11-25

Global Status Last Changed

1996-11-25

Other Status

LC - Least concern

Distribution

Conservation Status Map

Global Range

H - >2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles) - H - BREEDING: from southern Alaska, central British Columbia, and southern Mackenzie east across northern and central parts of Canadian Provinces to Labrador, northeastern Nova Scotia, southern Quebec, and Newfoundland. NON-BREEDING: from Oregon, central California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, southern South Carolina through Mexico and Central America to Tierra del Fuego, including West Indies; rare in Hawaii. The Guianas are the major coastal nonbreeding areas in South America (Morrison and Ross 1989). Nonbreeders sometimes summer in winter range, especially in coastal U.S. and West Indies (AOU 1983). Fairly common throughout most of range.

Global Range Code

Global Range Description

>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)

ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.105760