Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca)
- HABITAT - Greater Yellowlegs breeds on tundra and marshy ground in Alaska eastward across central Canada to Maritime Provinces and Newfoundland. During migration they frequent pools, lakeshores, and tidal mudflats and spend winters mainly along coasts from Washington State and Virginia southward, and along Gulf Coast..
- DIET - Greater Yellowlegs feed by wading in the water with their long legs, occasionally swimming in the deeper pools. Their bill is slightly upturned and used to skim small animals from the surface of the water as the bird swings it from side to side. During the summer, they eat mostly insects and their larvae. In migration and winter, often feeds on small fish, crustaceans, snails, tadpoles and marine worms.
- FACTS - Prior to the introduction of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, Greater Yellowlegs were regularly hunted in great numbers. In parts of the Caribbean, hunters still shoot thousands of migrating shorebirds each, including Greater Yellowlegs.
