Yellowleg confusion

[kenneth2019]

Is it possible to tell Lesser from Greater Yellowlegs from a photo.

As this one from Chilliwack Central today.


Yellowlegs L or Greater by Kenneth Davis, on Flickr

[old coot]

One web site that I have found useful for ID is: nwbackyardbirder.blogspot.com/2010/09/id-yellowlegs.html
Greg Gillson lived in Greater Seattle for a while, then moved to San Jose, then back to Washington state.
I found a lot to learn from his web site. Klaus

[Randy]

They can be tough in some photos for sure. To me that looks like greater with the large, slightly upturned bill.

[kenneth2019]

Sept 6, 2023 20:29:18 GMT -8 old coot said:

One web site that I have found useful for ID is: nwbackyardbirder.blogspot.com/2010/09/id-yellowlegs.html
Greg Gillson lived in Greater Seattle for a while, then moved to San Jose, then back to Washington state.
I found a lot to learn from his web site. Klaus

Thanks, that does help. Bookmarked the site. I think I just have not had a good look at Lesser Yellowlegs.

[paulos]

Yes, this is definitely a Greater. Lesser has a thinner, shorter, straighter bill and is a little more dainty-looking overall.

[kenneth2019]

Sept 9, 2023 7:09:46 GMT -8 paulos said:

Yes, this is definitely a Greater. Lesser has a thinner, shorter, straighter bill and is a little more dainty-looking overall.

Yes, I finally got a close up of the two side by side and got pictures of both. The difference in size was large, I think they were both at the extent of their sizes, the Lesser small and Greater large.