Greater yellowlegs - what a strange name for a bird.

Photographed near Red Deer, Alberta on August 10, 2024

Although it doesn't look like it in the photo, the legs of the greater yellowlegs sandpiper are bright yellow in colour.  What's odd though is that the bird's scientific name, Tringa melanoleuca, has a reference to the bird's black (melan) and white (leuca) feathering.  It's quite odd how scientific names and common names can be so different or similar.  The Tibetan blackbird is a large thrush-like bird, but it has the Latin name Turdus maximus, where Turdus means thrush and maximum means large.  That's not how most people interpret it though.

A similar bird, the lesser yellowlegs, is about half the size of the greater variety.  They do look somewhat similar; I found a good picture on the web that shows the two together.  You can view it by clicking here.

Greater yellowlegs are shorebirds and can be readily identified by their long legs and bill.  They eat mostly aquatic invertebrates but will take small frogs and fish if they can catch them.  The male displays about the female by a series of coasting dives and calls.  He then lands near the female and circles about her and poses with upraised wings.  I couldn't find any video.

The birds breed almost exclusively in Canada and spend their winters on either side of the US-Mexico border.  They can be found from east to west; I have seen them in both BC and Alberta.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com