|
Greater Yellowlegs Tringa melanoleuca Patiamarillo Mayor,
|
 |
|
Photo: B. Hallett
|
|
Greater Yellowlegs Tringa melanoleuca Patiamarillo Mayor,
|
|
|
Photo: B. Hallett
|
|
IDENTIFICATION: A long-legged shorebird, gray above and white below. In breeding plumage, it has barring on the sides. It has dramatic yellow legs, and a somewhat longer, thicker, and upturned bill when compared to the smaller Lesser Yellowlegs. Length: 29-33 cm.; weight: 111-235 g. VOICE: The call is a series of three to four loud notes. Audio (M. Oberle). HABITAT: Fresh and saltwater wetlands, pools and mudflats. HABITS: Feeds on small invertebrates, fish and frogs, occasionally at night. In addition to plucking food from near the waterÆs surface, it may sweep its bill in the water from side to side to detect prey by touch. At high tide, it roosts with other shorebirds and sleeps with its bill tucked under its wing and back feathers. In North America, it builds a nest scrape underneath bushes or stunted trees in muskeg or taiga. The 3-4 eggs are incubated for 23 days. The young feed themselves while one parent guards them on the ground and the other stands watch in a nearby treetop. The young fledge at 18-20 days, and migrate south after most adults have already departed. STATUS AND CONSERVATION: A common migrant, especially in the fall. It was hunted extensively in the 19th Century, and has presumably become more common now. RANGE: Nests in the swampy, boreal forests south of the tundra in southern Canada and southern Alaska---farther south than the Lesser Yellowlegs. It winters along the coast of North America from California and New England south, through the West Indies and Central America to Tierra del Fuego. Regular at Cabo Rojo and San JuanÆs Parque Central. TAXONOMY: CHARADRIIFORMES; SCOLOPACIDAE; Scolopacinae References Bent, A.C. 1927. Life histories of North American shore birds, part 1. Smithsonian Instit. U.S. National Museum Bull. 142. (Reprinted by Dover Press, NY, 1962). Collazo, J.A., B.A. Harrington, J. Grear, and J.A. Colón. 1995. Abundance and distribution of shorebirds at the Cabo Rojo salt flats, Puerto Rico. J. Field Ornithol. 66:424-438. del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott, and J. Sargatal, eds. 1996. Handbook of Birds of the World, Vol. 3. Hoatzin to Auks. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. Elphick, C.S. and T.L. Tibbitts. 1998. Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca). No. 355 in The birds of North America (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. Hayman, P., J. Marchant, and T. Prater. 1986. Shorebirds: an identification guide. Houghton Mifflin, Boston. Paulson, D. 1993. Shorebirds of the Pacific Northwest. Univ Washington, Seattle. Pérez-Rivera, R.A. 1980. Algunas notas sobre migración de aves en Puerto Rico. Science-Ciencia 7(4):123-126. Saliva, J.E. 1994. Vieques y su fauna: Vieques wildlife manual. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Boquerón, PR. Raffaele, H.A. 1989. A guide to the birds of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Princeton. Raffaele, H.A. 1989. Una guía a las aves de Puerto Rico y las Islas Vírgenes. Publishing Resources, Inc., Santurce, PR. Raffaele, H.A., J.W. Wiley, O.H. Garrido, A.R. Keith, and J.I. Raffaele. 1998. Guide to the birds of the West Indies. Princeton. Wunderle, J.M., Jr., R.B. Waide, and J. Fernández. 1989. Seasonal abundance of shorebirds in the Jobos estuary in southern Puerto Rico. J. Field Ornithol. 60:329-339. Greater Yellowlegs, Spanish text Next related species in taxonomic order Previous related species in taxonomic order |