Greater Yellowlegs
Tringa melanoleuca
Greater Yellowlegs · Everglades National Park · 6 February 2026
A Greater Yellowlegs in the shallows of the Everglades in February, wintering on the Florida flats after a summer in the bogs of Canada. It is the sentinel of the marsh: the first bird to call when anything approaches, and every other bird on the flat knows the call.
Named plainly for the obvious feature, and separated from the near-identical, smaller Lesser Yellowlegs mainly by size, a proportionately longer and subtly upturned bill, and a sharper, three-note call rather than any real difference in pattern. The bill length and slight upward bend visible here favour Greater, though the two are close enough that size is usually only reliable with something to compare against.
Birds, insects, plants and other wildlife, mostly from Brooklyn, with some from further afield.
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