Seward, Alaska
Thanks to the keen eye of Jim Stevenson, the problematic YELLOWLEGS identification has been resolved! All the photographed birds are LESSER YELLOWLEGS.
In all his years of birding, Jim has only ever seen Lessers using the swipe-feeding technique. Also, at least in Texas, flocks of Yellowlegs are virtually always Lessers. Greaters usually feed solitarily, or sometimes with a Willet, etc.
Kevin Karlson weighed in with these excellent tips and observations:
Even if the bill is somewhat long, it is a very even, slender shape with a diagnostic needle-like tip only found on the Lesser Yellowlegs.
Greater Yellowlegs would have a long bill with a thicker bill base and typically a thicker tip as well. Even very young Greater Yellowlegs juveniles show this thicker base, especially females, which have very thick-based bills with fairly blunt tips.
Lesser Yellowlegs have even body contours with gently rounded curves versus the awkward, belly-heavy structure of Greater Yellowlegs. GRYL also show a bulge in the throat when it is retracted, like an Adam’s apple in men, which Lesser Yellowlegs do not have.
I sure appreciate this correction and am pleased to have more clues to identify these tricky species. Thanks so much to Jim and Kevin for taking time to help!
Happy Birding!
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter
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