Greater or Lesser Yellowlegs?

[Bill Dix]

I know this is a very large crop with poor IQ, but is there enough here for someone to tell me if it's Greater or Lesser? Bill looks longer than head, and some streaking on the flanks but not much. Hard to give you an estimate of size, with nothing nearby to compare to. Shot last week in Chincoteague NWR, Virginia.

[Chris Sloan]

Greater. Note the very long bill (more than 1.5x the width of the head), and the bill is slightly upturned. The upturned bill in particular is a giveway, although it can be less obvious than here.

[Bill Dix]

Thank you Chris. I thought so, but wasn't sure.

[John Chardine]

Bill- I agree with Chris. This is an interesting conundrum though because as Chris aludes, the greater's bill seems to be variable. We get both species through our area starting early to mid July and they stick around through the fall. When they line up together the size difference between our two yellowleg species is impressive, and singly, the Lesser's head looks daintier with finer streaking and a different jizz. Here is what I think is a Lesser to compare with your Greater.

[John Chardine]

And here's a size comparison. Note the different breast blotchiness and the more even head pattern in the Lesser. The wings look different too.

[Bill Dix]

Thanks John. That's very helpful. I was uncertain of my tentative ID because my bird seemed to show limited streaking on the flank. But in your examples the Lesser seems to have no streaking of the flanks at all. (In addition to the other attributes that you have pointed out.)